


Mirage

by Cut_Tooth



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Eventual Romance, F/M, Organized Crime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-02-06 05:24:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 34,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12810558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cut_Tooth/pseuds/Cut_Tooth
Summary: In the midst of what seems to be a petty crime, ZPD partners Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps are launched into a situation that leaves them struggling for survival. The testing of their diligence will leave them questioning not only the meaning of their relationship, but the chances of them making it out alive.





	1. The Chase

**Author's Note:**

> Here I am, starting another story when my original is still in progress. Classic me. If you’re interested in a poorly written, uninspired piece of garbage Zystopia fanfiction, check out my fic Under an Iron Fist. This story, however, is not set in a Zystopian universe. It takes place a bit after the movie ends. I think that’s it…  
> Oh, wait! How could I forget? I think that many of you would like to know this essential piece of information. There will be WildeHopps!!! >:D

Sunlight lazily crept into the apartment bedroom, snaking its way through the cracks in a pair of curtains that hung in front of the window. Thin lines of light blanketed a sleeping fox, who lay on his bed curled up in a fetal position with his tail tucked between his legs like a furry pillow. Though the day was just about to begin for him, outside in the city of Zootopia the day had never stopped. Millions of mammals buzzed through the streets twenty-four seven; some on their way to their jobs for an honest living, others making cash by any means necessary.

The fox had once found himself lumped in the same category as the hoodlums, criminals, and gangsters of the city–scraping out a living at the expense of others. But now–through a stroke of luck he still struggled to understand–he had dedicated his life to doing the exact opposite. Day after day he donned his uniform, shined his badge, and put in his all to doing his duty: making the world a better place.

The alarm blared an intolerable ringing. Nick Wilde was thrust into consciousness, seriously considering reaching out to smash it into billions of tiny pieces.

Despite having a newfound wellspring of motivation and passion for his job, mornings were always a bit… _tough_ for Nick.

 _The alarm_ , he thought as he groaned into his pillow. _Why is it always the alarm? This stupid alarm always rips me from the only rest I can get. I wish I could sleep forever._

Nick’s ear twitched as he heard the door to his room open followed by the soft pattering of small paws on the carpet.

“Rise and shine, Nick!” a cheerful voice piped up.

Nick cracked an eyelid open to find a grey, female bunny in a police uniform bouncing  her way across the room to the window. The curtains were drawn back sharply, bathing the room in light. The sudden change from near pitch black darkness to a overwhelming brightness that Nick was sure rivaled that of the surface of the sun made the fox groan even louder. He ripped the pillow from under his head and smooshed it on top of the other side of his face.

The alarm was still angrily blaring.

“Carrots,” Nick mumbled. “I’m afraid I’m gonna have to play my ‘Get out of work free’ card. I have urgent matters to attend to.”

“I think your _ten_ extra minutes of sleep can wait, Nick,” the rabbit countered, reaching over and turning off the alarm.

“Ten? _Minutes_? I’m sleeping for the rest of my life if I have anything to do with it!”

“Yeah, no. Up now. If you can get dressed and freshen up before I finish breakfast I’ll let you drive the squad car today.”

“It’s gonna take more than that to get me out of bed, fluff.”

“Your coffee’s on the nightstand. Black, just the way you like it.”

Nick lifted the pillow from his eyes just enough to see that the bunny was right. Steam was still rising from the cup.

“What would I do without you, Carrots?” he asked.

“Go back out on the street, hustling pawpsicles and living in a box under a bridge. Now c’mon! We don’t have all day.”

As Nick watched Judy Hopps skip out of the room and into the kitchen, Nick wondered at the chain of events that had led him from small-time hustler to her partner at the ZPD.

 _It’d make for one hell of a movie,_ Nick thought vainly.

The smell of blueberries and pancake batter finally coaxed him out of bed. His paw instinctively reached out for the coffee first, his other pulling off his boxers.

“Getting dressed, Carrots! He shouted to the other room. “No peeking!”

“You wish! I’ve got better things to do than look at your fox junk.”

Nick took a large gulp of coffee letting the bitterness wash over his taste buds. The kick of caffeine was essential to his morning routine, and - more importantly - to helping him think up sly quips at a moment’s notice.

“You and I both know all rabbits are sex-crazed perverts. ‘It’s in their biology.’” Nick teased.

The subsequent groan Judy let out in exasperation brought a half smile to Nick’s muzzle.

“Right, and foxes are all devious criminals,” Judy huffed. “Any more sassy remarks and you’re missing out on these delicious pancakes.”

The fox froze in the middle of zipping up his pants. “You monster! You know blueberries are my greatest weakness!”  

Judy chuckled from the other room. “Don’t care! My house, my rules.”

“Pfft! One, this is an _apartment_ , not a house - there’s a difference. Two, I pay half the rent, ya know.”

Nick exhaled on his badge and wiped off the mist from his breath. He turned it towards the sunlight to check for the signature golden sparkle, and promptly clipped it onto his uniform. With a final gulp he finished off his coffee and made his way to the bathroom.

“You wouldn’t be paying rent at all if I didn’t give in to your begging to share an apartment with me,” Judy piped up. “...And you better not pee on the seat again!”

“That wasn’t me! What do you think I am, an animal?” Nick protested, before flushing the toilet and  quickly checking to see if the seat was clean.

“You _are_ an animal, and who else could’ve done it if not you? Make sure you wash your paws!”

“Yes, _Mom ..._ I’m washing ‘em, I’m washing ‘em.” He wiped off his paws on his pants and grabbed his toothbrush. “And for the record, I didn’t beg to share an apartment with you! This was _your_ idea.”

Nick started brushing and felt the minty suds wash away the now sour aftertaste of his morning coffee. It wouldn’t matter in the long run, though. He was surely to have at least a few more coffees during the day.

“Nuh uh! You asked me when you were approaching your first full year on the force. We were having shakes at Bugburga when you suggested it, remember?”

“I ‘emembah ‘oo shpilling ‘ohwah shake and-”

“Huh? I can’t understand you.”

Nick spit out the toothpaste and allowed the water to rinse it down the drain.

“Sorry,” he said. “I was _saying_ I remember you spilling your shake and being too embarrassed to ask for another one. I had to give you half of mine.” He gave himself a quick, devilish smile in the mirror, winked at the reflection, and went to the kitchen. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“That did _not_ happen!” Judy argued as Nick sat down at the table. She was already seated in the chair across from him.

“Did too.”

Nick looked down at a plate of blueberry pancakes set in front of him. He wasn’t surprised that Judy finished breakfast before he got ready. She always beat him, and thus always drove the squad car. In truth, Nick didn’t mind. After all, he had full control of the radio for both music and police business while riding shotgun. And most importantly, he could focus his attentions on making wry quips and jokes to amuse his ‘chaffeur.’

Judy lifted up her fork and pointed it accusingly at Nick, leaving a small string of syrup dripping down the plate. “Listen here, Slick Nick. I bet you’re just making up stories to make me look bad because you’re _jealous_ of me.” The tone of her voice was dead serious, but the barely suppressed smile that spread across her face told Nick otherwise.

The fox feigned surprise. “Jealous? _Me_? What would I have to be jealous of a pretty bunny such as yourself?”

Judy’s eyebrows shot up.

“Wait a sec … did you just ca-”

Judy’s phone started to ring. It was face-down, so she lifted it up to see the caller ID. Her eyes widened.

“Dang it! It’s my parents!” She exclaimed before pointing rigidly at the fox seated across from her. “Don’t say a word, Nick!”

“Ugh, again? Can’t we just-”

“Not. A. Word!” She brought a finger to her lips in warning, before she put on her brightest smile and tapped the answer button on her phone.

“Hey Mom! Hi Dad! What are you two doing calling this early in the morning?”

Judy’s mother had the phone centered on herself, with a nervous-looking older bunny chewing his claws in the background.

“Well,” Bonnie said, “your father here had sort of a… _hunch_ that you may have been in danger.” Bonnie moved the phone closer to her face and whispered, “He read something in the paper that said bunnies in the city have a higher chance of getting myxomatosis, and you know how protective he can be.”  
“Hey!” Judy’s father protested. “The Daily Carrot is a respectable news source, and I have every right to be concerned for my daughter!”

“Stu, dear… that same newspaper claimed that forty-seven percent of bears commit an act of _cannibalism_ in their lifetime. They didn’t even cite any sources!”

“Yeah, well… that’s beside the point! Judy, are you alright?”

“Yes, Dad,” Judy replied. “Perfectly fine.”

“Have you been experiencing any nausea recently? Headaches? Chest pain?”

“No, I-”

“Swelling? Vomiting? Rashes?”

“Dad, I’m completely-”

“Muscles spasms? Diarrh-”

“Dad! Stop it! There’s nothing wrong with me. Did you have anything else to ask? I gotta go to work soon.”

“Oh yes!” Bonnie said. “How’s Nick doing? Your partner?”

Nick’s ears perked up. He was under the impression that Judy’s parents had little knowledge of him, and now was a perfect time to find out exactly how much detail they knew.

“He’s doing well. I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”

Nick clasped his paws next to his cheek, batted his eyelashes, and mouthed an ‘Awww’. Judy ignored him.

“He found himself a vixen yet?” Stu asked, turning the phone on himself. “That Wilde fella ain’t getting any younger.”

Nick pursed his lips while Judy rolled her eyes.

“Just because he’s a fox doesn’t mean he’s going to end up with a vixen.” Judy said. “He could very well end up with somebody else.”

“Right, sorry Jude. I’m sure whatever girl _or guy_ Nick finds will be-”

“No, Dad, that’s not what I… never mind. Why are you asking so much about him anyway?”

The camera focused back on Bonnie. “Well we both think it’s just so great what you’ve done for him. You got him off the streets, got him a job, helped him find his own place to live… I guess we’re just…”

“Interested,” Stu finished. “Might as well call him family! And you know that any family of yours is family of ours, too.”

“I guess,” Judy agreed.

Nick, who had just finished off his fourth blueberry pancake, cleared his throat. When Judy looked up at him, he tapped his imaginary watch, signaling for her to wrap it up.

“Uh,” Judy stammered. “I really have to get going to work.”

“Okay Judy! Be safe! We love you!” Bonnie said.

“The city ain’t gonna save itself!” Stu added.

“Love you too! Bye!”

The bunny placed the phone back in its original position and buried her face in her paws. Nick rested both elbows on the table and started calculating the ideal length of time before the silence should be broken. After about twenty seconds, he decided to speak.

“They still don’t know we’re living together, huh?”

Judy sighed and lifted her gaze to meet the fox’s.

“I’m sorry, Nick,” she said quietly. “It’s just gonna be a bit harder for me to talk to my parents about it. They have the tendency to . . . jump to conclusions.”

“There’s no need to apologize, Carrots. I’m not mad, I’m just . . . confused is all. I mean it’s not like we’re _dating_ or anything. There isn’t really anything to even _explain_ to your folks. We’re just partners in the ZPD, and for financial and conveniency reasons, we happen to be living together.”

Judy had a cheek in her paw and was using her fork to play with the pancakes on her plate.

“I know,” she confirmed. “I’m . . . I need a bit more time. I’ll let them know, I promise.”

Nick raised an eyebrow and smirked. “It’s going to be _before_ your parents visit again, right? I’m not too keen on clearing the apartment of every trace of me and staying at a Mareiot again like last time.

The rabbit returned the smile. “Yes, Nick, I’ll make sure they know before they visit next time.”

“Good.” He grabbed his plate and stood up, the wooden chair behind him screeching against the floor. “Let’s get a move on. Like your old man said, ‘The city ain’t gonna save itself!’” He made sure to put on his best Stu Hopps impression, which in his mind happened to be a strong Podunk accent.

“Shut _up_ !” Judy yelled playfully, standing up to put her dishes away as well. “My dad does _not_ sound like that!”

“He totally does.”

“Does not!”

“Does too.”

The comedic quipping between the two carried on as it did every morning, spanning from their departure from the apartment, to their ride on the train, all the way to their arrival to the 1st Precinct Building.

* * *

 

“Holy shit, Wilde! You drink so much damn coffee I wouldn’t be surprised if you had caffeinated piss.”

Nick lifted his eyes from his now half empty cup of coffee to identify the mammal addressing him. A grey(?), smiling timberwolf approached him and leaned an elbow on the counter by the coffee machine.

“Mornin’ Wolfard,” Nick greeted his fellow officer. He took another sip of coffee and smirked. “You still telling girls you were maimed in the line of duty, or are you finally admitting that you were just born ugly?”

Wolfard scoffed and pointed a clawed thumb at his face. “You _wish_ you were as pretty as me, Wilde. But then again, when you got looks as shit as yours you’d better get used to the idea of being mistaken for a damn hippo.”

“Easy, Wolfard, there are some pretty hippos out there. And do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

“Heh, nope. Only yours.”

“Joke’s on you. My mom’s been dead for twenty-three years.”

Wolfard’s smile fell. “Oh shit, Nick. I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

The fox let laughter escape from is throat as he leaned down and slapped a knee.

“I’m just messing with ya!” he chortled. “Mom’s so healthy she could run a marathon with two obese rhinos on her shoulders. . .or maybe just your fat behind.”  
The wolf punched Nick on the arm as the smile found its way back on his muzzle.

“Ow!” Nick cried.

“You asshole! I felt bad for a second.”

“Mission accomplished.”

The two predators watched as officers filed into the bullpen. Officers of all different shapes and sizes gathered by the tables, awaiting Chief Bogo to come in and give them their morning assignments.

Nick’s focus locked on Judy, who was already sitting in her designated chair in the front and talking to Officer McHorn. She looked serious. Professional. Ready to tackle the crime of the city and willing to take on anything life throws at her. Nick admired her deeply for that. The bunny wasn’t one for calling it quits.

“Judy tell her folks you’re living together yet?” Wolfard said, interrupting Nick from his thoughts.

Nick looked down at the dark reflection in his coffee.

“No,” he replied. “They still don’t know.”

“Figures. It’s trouble enough you got a pair of nuts between your legs, but a fox living with a bunny? I can’t imagine anyone born in the last generation accepting that without batting an eye.”

Nick sighed and finished off the last of his coffee, making sure to wait for the final dark brown dregs to drip down the styrofoam cup onto his tongue.

“She’s so confident, though. So fearless. I thought that if anyone would be able to tell her folks without any shame it’d be her.”

“Everyone’s got their weak spots. Even that little bunny that you swoon over so much.”

The fox furrowed his eyebrows and turned his head to the wolf. “What are you trying to say?” he asked curiously.

“You like her, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah, of course I _like_ her. We’re basically–”

“Cut the shit, Wilde, you know what I mean. Your bristly ass has a crush on Judy Hopps.”

Nick blinked a few times at his friend before laughing a bit too vigorously and rolling his eyes.

“Pfft! Me? And _Judy_? Naaaaaah . . .”

Wolfard wore an unamused expression that said ‘Spare me, Wilde. You can’t fake your way out of this one.’

Nick’s face went serious. “Is it really that obvious?”

“To others? No. You have an uncanny ability to hide your emotions from the public. I, however, have an uncanny ability to recognize other mammals’ romantic interests. I know you’re into Judy Hopps just like I know how Officer Maneard only voted for Former-Mayor Lionheart because he thought the cat was hot.”

“Well dang, Wolfard,” Nick said, looking back at Judy. “Didn’t know you had such a gift.” The fox’s eyes suddenly widened. “Wait, Maneard’s _gay_?!”

The wolf smirked. “He’s about as straight as Clawhauser.”

“ _Clawhouser’s_ g– . . . wait, I already knew that one.”

Wolfard gave a small laugh as the two went silent again.

Nick scratched the back of his neck realization suddenly washing over him. If anybody else knew of his secret feelings, it could mean major trouble for him. Bunny-gets-weirded-out-and-friendship-goes-bye-bye kinda trouble, as Nick liked to call it.

Wolfard slapped a paw on Nick’s shoulder.

“Listen, buddy, there’s nothing to worry about,” he said, as if reading the fox’s mind. “Not a soul will hear a _word_ of what we just talked about. I promise.”

Nick felt comfort in his friend’s words of support, but still wasn’t totally sure he was in the clear.

“You’re not . . . offended, are you?” he asked.

“Offended? I don’t give a rat’s ass who you wanna screw! Love is love, dude. Plus you two are just adorable. A fox and a rabbit. . .it’s like some Disney shit. Who wouldn’t be pulling for you guys?”

Nick felt relief rush through his veins as he shrugged the paw off of his shoulder.

“Thanks, Wolfard,” he said.  
“Don’t mention it,” Wolfard replied, slipping his paws into his pants. “Actually, _do_ mention it. I love praise.”

“Of course you do.”

The monumental form of a cape buffalo walked through the door prompting the mammals in the room to start pounding their desks and chant _Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!_ in unison.

“Well, Wolfard,” Nick commented as he moved to go sit with his partner, “I’ll see you around. Drinks tonight?”

“Hell yeah, Wilde! We gotta talk about what you’re gonna do with Judy. You know I ain’t letting a packmate get blue balls on my watch.”

“. . . yeah let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“Wilde! Wolfard! Your tails, in those seats, _now_.” The buffalo’s deep, tough voice demanded. A top-heavy cape buffalo was standing cross-armed behind a podium that appeared miniscule in his shadow. He wore a heavy scowl that promised a world of unpleasantness to those who crossed him.

Nick unflinchingly strolled to the oversized seat he shared with Judy, climbed atop of it, and look directly at Chief Bogo with a smug smile on his face. The rabbit beside him rolled her eyes, unamused by his actions.

“Did you hear me Wilde? When I give an order, I _expect_ to be answered,” Bogo made clear. His voice rang in the ears of every officer within the general area, making the mammals with more sensitive hearing wish natural selection hadn’t evolved their auditory capabilities.

“What’s that Chief?” Nick feigned ignorance. “I’m afraid I couldn’t hear you. Could you possibly speak a bit louder?” This earned a few groans from his fellow officers.

“Shut you tiny mouth before I shut it for you, fox!”

Nick clasped his muzzle closed with a paw, still smirking.

Bogo glared before straightening up and saying, “Alright, let’s get on with it. Assignments: Delgato, Higgins, Trunkaby, there’s a big expo going on in Savannah Central at 10 AM. We’ll need you to run security.”

The three called mammals promptly stood up and left the room together.

“Wolfard and Mchorn,” the chief continued, “illegal narcotics have been running rampant in the Nocturnal District for the past several months. We need a good nose to sniff out the supplier and some brawn to take them down.”

The ground erupted in a low-magnitude earthquake as McHorn got out of his seat next to the fox and the rabbit. He left the room with the wolf closely behind. Wolfard gave Nick a quick wink before the door shut.

“Wilde, Hopps, our so-called ‘dynamic duo’.” Nick and Judy’s attention snapped back to Bogo. “We’ve been getting suspicious reports of a black van with a busted taillight in Sahara Square. Witnesses have claimed they’ve been verbally threatened by whoever's driving it. The van has tinted windows, so the suspect’s species has remained unidentified. Find the moron and get his car off the streets.”

The two gave a quick nod of understanding and hopped out of their chair together. Nick grabbed another cup of coffee on his way out, and once they left the room, Nick began complaining.

“Ugh, why couldn’t _we_ monitor the event? Frank Zebra’s playing Sahara Square and new new album’s kickass.”

“Who?” Judy asked innocently.

Nick’s jaw dropped and he stared at Judy, bewildered. He shook his head.

“I have so much to show you in this world, Carrots.”

The fox slipped on his sunglasses and opened the door leading to the parking lot, allowing Judy to walk through first. He never hesitated to show courtesy to any female he respected–a selective group that consisted solely of Judy and his mother.

Judy turned around, walking backwards through the parking lot so she could face Nick while she talked to him.

“If Fred Zebra is anything like any of the other quote-unquote _musicians_ you’ve shown me, I think I’ll take a hard pass.”

“ _Frank_ Zebra, thank you very much, and who would you rather listen to? Gazelle? Justin Beaver? Gimme a break.”

The bunny sensed she was getting close to her vehicle, as she made this same morning walk hundreds of times before and memorized the distance. She turned to the squad car and hopped up to open the oversized door, talking as she did so.

“I would, actually, and so would ninety-nine percent of the rest of the planet. It’s way better than that weird album you showed me yesterday.”

Nick followed Judy into the car, strapping himself in and pulling out his handy-dandy auxiliary cord.

“Neutral Elk Hotel is an _amazing_ band, mind you, and you should be aware that you’ve lost five friendship points for making a negative comment about them.”

“Oh _nooo_ ,” the bunny sarcastically quipped, turning the car on and shifting to reverse. “What _ever_ will I do without those essential five friendship points? What does that put me at now, Slick? One-thousand four-hundred and ninety-five?”

Nick scrolled through the large repertoire of Frank Zebra on his phone, searching for the perfect introductory tune.

“One-thousand four-hundred and sixty, actually, and to make up those lost points you’re going to have to suffer through all nine glorious minutes of. . .” he tapped a song, “. . .’Muffin Mammal.’”

The chromatic notes of the distorted electric guitar blasted through the speaker system, resulting in Judy’s ears flattening against the back of her head.

The car pulled out of the parking lot and onto the streets.  
“You know,” Judy said. “You’re the only officer in the ZPD that brings an aux cord on shift with him.”

Nick smirked. “I’m also the only officer in the ZPD that likes to have fun.”

“I’m fun!”

“Right, and in other news, pigs can fly.”

Judy suddenly slammed on the breaks as a traffic light ahead of them turned from yellow to red. Nick lurched forward, his seatbelt locking and keeping him from flying out of his seat. He chuckled.

“If you think that I didn’t learn to wear a seatbelt after the first time you did that, you really are a dumb bunny.”

Judy rolled her eyes, leaned forward, and ripped the auxiliary cord from its port.

“Hey!” Nick whined in protest.

The bunny merely smiled at her own actions.

* * *

 

“I think we’ve got a match, Nick.”

The fox lowered his sunglasses, following the direction of his partner’s gaze as she slowed their cruiser down and parked by the sidewalk. Just as expected, a black van with tinted windows lay undisturbed on the opposite side of the street. The left taillight was broken and clearly non-functional.

“Wanna get his vehicle towed right now?” Nick asked. “Or would you rather wait and see if he threatens somebody?”

“I figured we’d go for the double whammy on this one.”

“Stylish, I like it.”

Nick simultaneously raised his sunglasses and lowered the volume of the current Frank Zebra song and putting his phone in the cup holder. He took a swig of coffee, sat it down in the other cup holder, and returned his gaze to the van. To his pleasant surprise, he noticed Judy’s paws tapping the steering wheel to the rhythm of the tune. He grinned in self-satisfaction.

“It appears to me that _someone_ is enjoying ‘City of Tiny Lights,’” he said mockingly.

“Hm?” she replied, still facing out the window. “Yeah, it’s alright, I guess.”

“You _guess_? One does not simply ‘guess’ when it comes to Mr. Zebra.”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to get at here, Nick.”

“You like the song. Admit it.”

“I’m not following you.”

“Admit it!”

“Huh?”

“Ad-”

“What?”

“-mit”

“Stop!”

“It!”

“Okay! Gosh! It’s a good song, okay? Do you want a prize or something?”

“Nope.” Nick’s smile grew broader. “I’ve already got one.”

Judy rolled her eyes. “You’re hopeless.”

“Yeah? You’re hopeless- _er_.”

“You’re-”

“. . .A WORTHLESS, SHARP-TOOTHED PIECE OF GARBAGE! I OUGHTA POACH YOU AND MAKE YOU MY NEW RUG! GET THE HELL OUTTA MY CITY, VERMIN!”

The duo’s line of sight immediately shot back outside to see a crack in the van’s window rolling back up. A female dhole was quickly scurrying away on the sidewalk by the van. She had a look on her face that matched terror mixed with disgust, and she was tightly holding the ears of what appeared to be her son.

“Harsh,” Nick said, a bit stunned. “You’re telling me this guy’s been idly sitting in his van all this time, waiting for someone to pass by just to yell at them?”

“Seems so,” Judy said. “You call it in. I’ll go have a word with this pleasant-sounding fella. ‘Kay?”

“Mm-hmm.”

The bunny opened the door and slipped out of the squad car while her partner reached for the radio. He clicked the transmission button while he watched Judy approach the van, hands on her hips.

“Clawhauser, it’s Wilde. We found the harassing mammal with the missing license plate. Officer Hopps is approaching the suspect’s vehicle. Standby.”

In response, Nick was met with garbled static from the receiver. He clicked the button again, this time more firmly, and glanced over to see Judy knocking on the door of the van, as she couldn’t reach the window.

“Clawhauser, do you copy? Over.”

Nick nearly mistook the squealing of burning rubber for another round of white noise. The driver’s side door of the cruiser lurched open and Judy clambered in panting. She instantly geared into drive and wordlessly U-turned, speeding off after the black van. Nick had already turned on the sirens and thumbed the radio again.

“Uh, Clawhauser, buddy, I don’t know if you can hear me, but we’ve got a 10-80. We’re in pursuit. I repeat, 10-80 we’re in pursuit.”

“That lunatic nearly ran over my foot!” Judy growled as she made a sharp right-turn, following the van past a strip mall. ‘City of Tiny Lights’ still faintly played as they chased the van. Passerbys hugged the sides of buildings as the two vehicles raced past. A few took out their phones to record the chase, dropping their shopping bags to the ground to get maximum camera stability.

“Nick! Loudspeaker! _Now_!”

The fox fumbled with the radio and held the mouthpiece to his lips.

“This is the ZPD. To the mammal in the black van, pull over immediately. You are putting lives in danger. Pull over _immediately_.”

The van reeled around a corner, two tires leaving the friction of the asphalt for a moment before returning to the ground. It swerved, leaving tires marks that would undoubtedly remain tattooed on the Sahara Square streets for months to come.

The van began to approach a dead end, the stretch beyond the street boasting tens of miles of barren desert.

“He’s gotta pull over,” Judy said. “There’s nowhere to go.”

Nick sighed. “Judy, I’m afraid you underestimate the profound desperation of a criminal on the run.”

Just as Nick suspected, the van bounced over the curb and hit the sand. For a few moments the two cops gained on him as the van’s wheels ground helplessly against the sand. About fifty meters before they reached the van, however, the suspect must have changed gears. It shot forward, shooting up twin plumes of dust and sandy earth as it sped away.

“Sweet cheese and crackers,” Judy said. “Why doesn’t anybody ever pull over when we ask them to?”

The two felt their seatbelts lock against their chests as the cruiser wheels hit the curb. Judy changed over to four-wheel drive to compensate for the oncoming sand. The crunching, sinking battle the tires fought was quickly won, and the squad car slowly began to accelerate once again. The gap between the two vehicles began to close.

Judy held her right paw over to Nick, flexing her fingers in a ‘fork it over’ motion.

“Give me the radio,” she demanded without taking her eyes off of what was ahead.

Nick did as she asked, and in the split second she took to look for the transmission button, the front left tire of the cruiser met a small sinkhole in the sand. It wasn’t nearly enough to flip them over, but it proved to be a substantial inhibitor to their velocity.

To Nick’s dismay, the last of his coffee erupted from the cup, drenching his phone in the cup holder next to it. Frank Zebra’s jamming made some skips and finally came to a halt, as if uttering a final, dying breath.

“Damn it!” the fox cried, grabbing for his phone as though it were a fragile infant.

As Nick attempted to wipe the coffee off his uniform, Judy regained her focus and spoke into the mouthpiece.

“This is it, pal. You’re not going to find anything but desert for the next hundred or so miles. Stop your vehicle right now if you know what’s good for you.”

Whoever was driving apparently did _not_ know what was good for him. And contrary to what the duo expected, he was not alone in the van.

The sharp, supersonic crackling of gunshots registered  before the two cops even noticed anybody lean out of the passenger window. The sound echoed for miles, but wasn’t strong enough to carry itself to the ears of civilization. Nick felt a thump followed by a slight decline on his side of the car. Despite Judy’s best efforts, the now-deflated tire took the reigns, and the fox and the rabbit found themselves swerving uncontrollably in the loose sand. Momentum worked against them, and the car careened over, flipping once. . .twice. . .three times before achieving equilibrium on its left side.

Nick shook his head a few times to ease the shock, and raised his limp arms to massage his temples. He looked to his left–no, that was down now–to see Judy doing the same.

“Hopps, you alright?”

She did a quick body inspection and gave him a half-hearted thumbs-up.

“Good, good. . .” he said. “Can you move over a bit? I’m probably gonna come tumbling down once I click outta this seatbelt, and I’d hate to add to the whiplash you’re pr-”

More gunfire made Judy’s ears shoot up, and she hastily started moving.

“They’re aiming for the gas tank,” she said urgently. “Go. Go!”

Adrenaline pumped through the fox’s veins and the world seemed to slow down. The bunny jumped out of the way, letting Nick fidget with his seatbelt, gravity inevitably helping him clumsily fall flat on his face. Judy grabbed him by the wrist and began to kick at the windshield. Confusion and dread washed over the fox as he helplessly watched.

“Carrots, you can’t expect to break that! That’s police-grade safety glass that-”

Spider-webbed cracks appeared on the window, and after two more kicks Judy’s foot sent the shattered remains of the windshield straight off the car.

“Holy-” Nick began.

“Come on!” Judy yelled, yanking Nick out of the impromptu exit. She dragged him up a sand dune–not a big one, but it reached above their heads– and the now muffled sounds of bullets rattling against the frame of their overturned cruiser filled them with relief. They hadn’t been spotted leaving.

The relief was short-lived. As the two crested the top of the dune, the shockwave of an explosion sent the two sprawling. Nick felt flying bits of debris patter against his back and whiz past his head. Some bits of shrapnel dug into his pelt, leaving him with lacerations that began to bleed into his fur.

Nick and Judy scrambled to their feet and leapt over the other side of the hill, ears ringing. Still disoriented from the car wreck, Nick collapsed and rolled down to the bottom. Judy slid down to catch up to him and again grabbed his wrist.

“Nick, we have to keep going! They’ll notice we escaped!”

Breathless, the fox nodded.

He got up with the bunny, but a pained cry from her brought her into his arms.

“Hopps?” he said concerningly. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

She scrunched up her face in agony and took a few dry, short breaths of air. A trifle of a moan escaped her lips, as if she was trying to answer, but another wave of pain overtook her body and mind. Instead, she unclasped a paw from the back of Nick’s uniform and pointed at her left leg. Nick’s eyes followed her motion, and he gasped when he saw a deep, bleeding gash across the back of her hamstring.

“Aw _shoot_ ,” he said in dismay. He kneeled down and laid Judy on the sand, resting her lacerated limb across his thighs. He slid his sticky, coffee-stained phone in his pocket. “Uh. . .umm. . .okay, Carrots. I really need to wrap this u-”

“No!” she loudly whispered. “They’re going to find us here, so we have to move _now_!”

“You  can’t go anywhere on your own with your leg like that. We’ll be wasting energy for nothing, and you’ll make it worse. They have a van and–god damn, those were _real_ guns.”

Judy squeezed her eyes shut and let out a large breath, trying to keep herself calm.

“You-” she started, and took another labored breath. “You need to go without me.”

Nook shook his head, refusing to accept that as an option. “No, no, Carrots come on I’m not leaving you here.”

“I. Can’t. _Walk_.”

“No, Carrots, you said that least time you tore up your leg. We’ll find a way. We always-”

“Hey, boss, there ain’t no bodies in here!” someone yelled from the other side of the dune. The two stared at each other in stunned silence, trying to figure something out while the fire crackled from what used to be their squad car.


	2. The Cold

Trevor the goat was a minion, an understudy; treated as nothing more than a mentally impaired servant that fetched the morning newspaper, etc. Trevor was not in charge; he knew it and he accepted it.

He squatted down and squinted, peering into the burning wreckage to try and catch his mistake (praying he hadn’t made one at all). He breathed a sigh of relief. No, no he definitely hadn’t made a mistake. There were no bodies in the cruiser, which was lucky for him: One less mistake meant one less verbal lashing from the mammal.

Trevor glanced up to see the mammal approaching with slow thoughtful steps. After a moment, the mammal reached the goat and stood next to him, not bothering to take a look for himself.

“They could not have gone far,” the mammal said patiently. The mammal  nodded his head towards a sand dune a short ways beyond them. “Check over there.”

“Yes, boss,” Trevor replied.  The goat immediately got up to do his newly assigned job, but was stopped by the mammal.

“Trevor, do me a favor and drop the ‘boss,’ please. You are making me feel like I am on the streets, like I am a _mobster._ Grant me a bit of respect by calling me ‘sir’. You _can_ do that for me, correct?”

Trevor nodded. “Yes, b– . . . _sir_.”

The mammal smiled and said, “Thank you. Now let us look for our new friends, shall we?”

“Yes, sir.”

Trevor started for the dune again, the mammal following slowly behind and whistling a noteless tune. Reaching the top, the goat raised a hoof to shield his eyes from the sun, searching all the way to the horizon for any sign of the ZPD. He sighed and let his arms fall to his sides.

“Nothing, boss,” he said. “I don’t even see no tracks.”

The mammal had just finished his stroll to the peak of the hill, and was taking great interest in kicking sand over and watching it drag an entire tiny avalanche down with it. He chuckled.

“Please reconsider your statement and make it again once you have identified your mistake,” he said.

Trevor looked at the mammal and then looked back out at the miles of vast desert. Fear growing in the pit of his stomach, the goat began to babble.

“I- uhh . . . I mean, there ain’t no tracks, b-boss, at least that I c-”

His verbal mistake dawned on Trevor instantly, but by then it was too late. The mammal grabbed Trevor by the throat and pulled him face to face, making the babbling louder and stronger. Trevor’s eyes bulged in dread, and his tongue flapped wildly out of his mouth as he stuttered, flinging several strings of spittle onto his assailant’s face. The mammal either did not notice or did not care, and paid no attention to it. In fact, he smiled.

“Those are two very different words, Trevor. I do not think you understand this difference, so please allow me to explain it to you. They have different letters and thus different spelling. ‘Sir’ is spelled S-I-R, while ‘boss’ is spelled B-O-S-S. Although your inbred brain fails to recognize this–most likely due to your nonexistent education–I will do my damnedest to help a desperate friend in need, and correct you whenever you happen to make this simple error. Is this not agreeable?”

Trevor shut his eyes and nodded as much as his gripped neck would allow.

“Splendid.”

The mammal let go and watched Trevor collapse to the sand with psychotic satisfaction. The goat was coughing violently. The mammal looked out over the desert as the goat attempted to regain his breath.

“We will find them,” the mammal said. “I am sure of it.”

The mammal started walking back to the van, Trevor’s crippled form illuminated by the beaming sunlight behind him.

“Fuck this job,” Trevor muttered to himself between hacking coughs. A moment later, he got up to follow the mammal.

* * *

 Judy burst out of the sand like a fish out of water, gasping and sputtering. She shook her head, trying to get the grains off her fur, and looked down beside her to see the tip of Nick’s nose—nostrils flaring—the rest of his face and body buried.

“Nick, I think they’re gone,” she whispered.

Mounds of sand toppled off of the fox as he rose out of the earth. The fox promptly spit out the wet globs of sand that had found their way into his mouth.

“You sure?” he asked through a cough.

“Not completely.”

“I’ll go check. Let’s get your leg outta the sand first. On three, okay?”

Judy nodded.

“One, two, three.”

Once the two mammals had pulled Judy’s injured leg out from the sand, Nick reached out with his paws and tightly clasped around the gaping wound. Judy brushed off some of the sand that clung to the congealed blood around the exposed flesh of her wound. Nick brought his paws away, the slight shift of friction causing the rabbit to tighten her jaw and squirm a bit. His fingers were crimson with fresh blood.

“Alright, I did the best I could to keep the sand outta the gash,” he said, wiping his paws on his pants. “But obviously swimming in the crap made it a bit difficult. I don’t think enough got in to do any harm, though.”

“Yeah,” Judy said through gritted teeth. “Thanks, Nick.”

He shrugged and smirked, a signature combo of his. “It’s what partners are for, right?”

She smiled back at him. “That, and showing each other terrible music.”  
“You said _yourself_ you liked the song!”

“Go check if anyone’s there, wise guy.”

Nick got up with a pained grunt, leaving Judy on her back in the sand, left leg bent at the knee to avoid putting it on the ground. She strained her neck to get her first decent look at her injury, and gasped. The cut was deep. _Really_ deep. Probably made by a piece of flying metal shot off from the explosion. Several specks of sand masked the blood-soaked ravage, but Judy could tell it was bleeding profusely. Come to think of it, she was starting to feel a bit faint. She quickly pressed her paws back against it.

“No van or mammal in sight, Carrots,” she heard Nick say.

He came sliding back down the hill to her, immediately noticing the worried expression her face wore.

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” he asked, slightly not wanting to know the answer.

Judy’s grave silence was enough of a reply for him.

“We need to wrap it up, then. Stat,” he said with urgency in his tone.

He took off his belt and then unbuttoned the jacket of his uniform, revealing a plain, white tank top underneath. He slid out of it, his creamy orange fur glistening under the harsh rays of the beating sun.

Nick dug the claw on his pointer finger into the cloth, pulling and ripping off a strip. He held out his makeshift bandage in front of him, stretched it a bit, and finally deemed it fit for use.

“Um, Carrots,” he said. “I’m gonna need you to take your pants off.”

Judy eyed him. “This isn’t just some ploy to see me half-naked, is it?”

Nick smiled and felt a surge of admiration for his partner. Here she was, seriously wounded and still cracking jokes.

“If it is, then you have full permission to kill me on the spot.”

Judy sighed. “Alright.” She began to remove her pants, but Nick stopped her.

“You should let me do it. I need you to keep pressure on the wound.”

She laughed nervously. “Now _that_ sounds a bit sketchy.”

“Hopps, for Pete’s sake, I’m not doing this to get off. If you nicked an artery, you’ll bleed out fast if you don’t keep pressure on it!”

“Sorry.”

She gripped her leg again while Nick began to work on her pants.

“It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before or anything,” he said quietly, and then chuckled.

Judy’s ears perked. “What did you say?”

Nick shrugged. “It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before,” he said louder.

She stared at him with wide eyes.

“Not on purpose, of course,” Nick continued. “I mean we do _live_ together, and one time you forgot to lock the bathroom door. I walked in, yadda-yadda-yadda, I accidentally caught a glimpse of your bunny buns.”

“How did I not know of this?”

“I was quiet closing the door, and I didn’t tell you because . . . well, you know, _awkward_.

Despite the fur on her cheeks, Judy felt it was obvious she was blushing. Nick quickly caught on to her embarrassment.

“Oh, come on, Carrots,” he said. “How many times have you walked in on me changing? Ten? We’re best friends! It’s not such a big deal.”

“It’s been twelve times, actually. The image is permanently seared into my mind.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You leave the door _wide open._ You’re practically asking for it!”

“I get uncomfortable when I’m alone in a room with the door shut.”

“You close the door when you go to the bathroom!”

“That’s different.”

“How? Please explain to me how that’s different.”

“. . . You’re a bunny. You wouldn’t understand.”

“I refuse to believe that being a fox has anything to do with it. And don’t you go pulling the bunny card on me, mister!”

“Okay, okay.”

They smiled at each other. Then they suddenly remembered the position they were in: Nick was shirtless, paws gripping Judy’s pants–which were halfway down her legs. The fox cleared his throat, looked down, and pulled the pants all the way off.

He tightly wrapped his belt at the end of her thigh, and tied the remains of his tank top over the wound, tying it off at the end.

Nick blinked a few times, then suddenly started laughing so hard he reeled over onto the sand.

“What? What is it?” Judy asked.

“C-C-Carrots, I-” The laughing continued. Nick pressed his paws on his uncontrollably contracting abdominal muscles, clearly trying to get ahold of himself, but he was failing miserably. Judy, rather unamused, thought he sounded like a dying hyena.

After a moment the laughter faded, and Nick sat up, wiping a glistening tear of joy away from his eye.

“Aw, golly, that’s _rich_ is what that is,” he said.

“Mind sharing what made you laugh like a fifth-grader hearing a fart joke.”

He started to pull on his uniform, not bothering to button it. “Fluff, I know that rabbits have an unhealthy obsession with carrots, but do you _seriously_ have to print them on your _underwear_?”

Judy was positive her blushing was visible this time.

Nick sighed, still smiling, and picked up the rabbit’s pants, taking a look at the the tear.

“I’m not sure how much use putting these back on would be, but if you’re up to dealing with a blood-soaked, ripped-up pair of pants, be my guest,” he said.

He tossed them to his partner, got up, and looked out towards the horizon, using a paw to shield his eyes from the sun.

Judy held the pants for a moment and considered putting them back on to avoid further humiliation, but decided that her comfort was more important than her ego at a time like this. Figuring it would be a waste to toss them aside, she ripped the remains of pant leg off before wrapping it around Nick’s tank top–which was already red with blood–making sure to tie it extra tight.

“So, Nick,” she said, “what’s the plan?”

The fox glanced behind him and looked back to the endless hills of sand.

“Hm? Dunno. I figured I’d leave that to you. You’re the brains of the group, after all.”

“ _I’m_ the brains? So what does that make you?”

“You know: looks, brawn, humor, the works.”

“Yeah, no. C’mon over here. We’ve gotta brainstorm.”

“Alright, alright.”

Nick turned around and then stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened, and he suddenly checked his pockets.

“Ah damn it. _Damn_ it!” he yelled.

“What’s wrong?” Judy attempted to sit up, but grimaced with pain and fell back to her elbows.

“My frickin’ sunglasses fell off when we crashed! They blew up with the cruiser!” He dragged a paw over his face. “Oh no, _and_ my aux cord.”

Judy rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help the small grin that pulled at the edge of her mouth.

Nick took a few overly dramatic defeated steps and sat down next to the bunny, mumbling: “Phone, aux cord, sunglasses . . . all destroyed. Those guys have officially made an enemy out of Nick Wilde.”

This earned him a glare from Judy.

“. .  . _And_ they did try to kill us,” he quickly added. “That was bad, too.”

Judy sighed. “How far from the city do you think we are?” She squinted at the image of Zootopia skyscrapers in the distance. They appeared to be dancing in the visually distorting power of the heat.

“Hm . . . ten? twenty miles? Hard to tell from so far out. We were going pretty darn fast back there.”

“Yeah, she agreed. “I’m still feeling dizzy from that crash. Head is killing me right now.”

“Mmhm. Same.” He paused. “Say, how come you had us go out the windshield instead of the door?”

“Wasn’t it obvious? We would’ve been deer in headlights if we came out the door. Definitely would’ve been filled with bullets. The only exit that wasn’t in their view was the windshield.”

“Ah. Good thinking.”

They sat in silence for a bit. Nick coughed a few times.

“I don’t think anybody’s coming for us, Carrots,” the fox said somberly.

“What? Why wouldn’t they?”

“For all the time I’ve worked on the force, I’ve never experienced a radio malfunction. Not even a bad connection. Clawhauser always comes out the other end clear as day.” He turned to Judy. “Whatever was going on, nobody heard me call that van in. My guess is whoever tried to kill us had some sort of local jammer. It probably blocked the GPS on the squad car, too. The ZPD most likely doesn’t know we’re stranded here.”

Judy’s ears drooped as her heart fell. She pressed her paws against her eyes and fell back into the sand, groaning. She heard Nick keep talking.

“A-again, just a guess, but . . . well, you’re in pretty bad shape. It’s possible that some civilian that saw the car chase called the police, but just in case nobody’s coming, it wouldn’t be the smartest idea to just sit around.

Judy’s arms fell to her sides. “You’re right, Nick, it’s just . . . geez this isn’t good. This is _not_ good. With my leg like this, getting back to the city could take days. We don’t have any food, any water, any-”

“Hopps, I’m not leaving you behind if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“You could be into the city in less than ten hours-”

“Carrots . . .”

“-have me in an ambulance and to a hospital in maybe an hour more.”

“And risk having you dead by the time we get to you? Nuh uh. No way We’re sticking together no matter what, end of story.”

“Yeah . . . yeah, sorry.”

They sat in mutual silence for a few moments. Nick eventually got up with a grunt and offered a paw to Judy.

“Let’s go,” he said. “Better make some headway while it’s still light out.”

She took his paw and let it him wrap he arm around his shoulder, taking away the burden of leaning on her wounded leg.

“So we’re just gonna . . . walk?” Judy asked.

Nick sighed. “It’s our best bet right now. If you think of any alternatives, I’d love to hear.”

The bunny looked into the horizon, a seemingly endless ocean of sand shadowed by the gleaming city in the distance. She gulped.

“Alright,” she said. “Let’s do this.”

Judy took a step, and immediately her bad leg gave out. She collapsed, crying out in pain as millions of burning needles pierced her hamstring.

“Hey, woah, Carrots you gotta give me some sort of warning, alright?” Nick said, concerned.

“Yeah,” Judy replied shakily. “Sorry.”

“No worries. Let’s just take this nice and slow. Ready?”

She nodded.

“Okay, first step. That’s it.”

Judy staggered as if in a drunken stupor. Her breathing was heightened, and heart rate was considerably above the norm. She started to falter, but Nick caught her.

“Take it easy, Carrots. Don’t be afraid to lean as much weight as you need on me.”

The fox felt the rabbit lean on him more, and noticed Judy’s walking become more natural and comfortable.

“There we go. Much better, Carrots. You feeling alright?”

Judy let herself catch her breath before speaking. “Yeah. Can we take a little break? I need some rest.”

“Course. Give me the word when you’re ready again.”

Judy slowly lowered herself to the ground, gripping onto Nick’s arm for support. He watched her chest heave for a while, wishing he could do something to further help his partner. Nick looked behind him and saw their footsteps from where the started. They couldn’t have gone any more than one-hundred meters. He pursed his lips.

“Carrots, I hope you’re ready for us to really get to know each other, because this is going to be a long walk.”

Judy’s ears flopped back against her head.

* * *

 “Alright, your turn, Slick,” Judy said.

The duo hobbled along at a snail’s pace, making progress ridiculously slow, but making progress nonetheless. The desert was nearly completely barren. They passed the occasional cactus and shrubbery, and even saw a lizard or scorpion every once in a while. However, being that the desert was made artificially for Sahara Square, there wasn’t much life to it. Nick couldn’t help but think the sheer size and scale was a bit overkill.

“Hmm . . . ah, okay. Favorite food?” Nick asked.

“Oh, that’s easy. It’s gotta be–”

“ _Other_ than carrots,” the fox interrupted.

Judy elbowed him playfully.

“Woah, Carrots! Keep in mind who’s keeping you on your feet.”

“I _wasn’t_ going to say carrots, thank you very much. My favorite food’s definitely celery.”

“Oh, so _that’s_ not stereotypical, but carrots are?” Nick scoffed.

“Shut up! What’s your favorite? Rabbits?”

The fox rolled his eyes. “C’mon, Carrots, don’t be gross. My favorite food is chicken by far.”

“Oh, so _that’s_ not gross, but rabbits are?” This time Judy scoffed.

Nick lifted his collar to his mouth as a mock microphone. “Captain’s Log, Day 1: The bunny’s already using my own words against me. Note to self: keep an eye on her, and eradicate her presence when the situation calls for it.”

“You’re gonna have to deal with me making fun of ya, Nick,” Judy said, smiling. “If you think I’m gonna turn the other cheek to your fox crap, you’re terribly mistaken.”

“On the other paw, you’re gonna have to deal with my fox crap.”

“A few hours into this and I’m already losing my mind. Great,” Judy said sarcastically.

“Ah, so my plan is working.” Nick laughed diabolically, his voice growing louder and more annoying with each breath.

Judy’s half-lidded eyes looked off into the distance. She saw that the sun was starting to set.

“Nick, how far do you think we’ve gone?” she asked.

Nick quit his evil villain act and quickly checked their position.

“At least a mile . . . right?” he answered.

“The city looks like it’s the same distance away.” Judy pointed to their destination. “And the sun’s already setting.”

“Finally,” Nick said. “I’m panting my balls off out here.”

“First of all, ew. And second, the desert is going to be _really_ cold once it’s dark. You’re going to prefer sweating over that, trust me.”

“Carrots, we have fur for a reason, right? It can’t be that bad.”

Judy patted Nick’s arm, treating him like a naive child. “You just keep on believing that, Nicholas.”

“The last person that’s called me Nicholas was my mother, and now I’m being flooded with painfully embarrassing memories. Thanks a bunch, Carrots.”

“Well . . .” Judy looked once more at the fading image of the city. “Since it’s getting dark, and we’ve been walking for a while, wanna sit down and rest? Talk more about that?”

Nick looked over at her, a bit surprised.

“What, about my mom?” Nick asked.

“We don’t have to if you two don’t have a good relationship or something.”

“No, no, it’s not that. It’s just that nobody has asked much about my personal life . . . like, _ever_.”

“Well I’d love to know more about my best friend, if he’s up for it.”

Nick scratched the back of his neck, clearly contemplating the proposition.

“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, sure.”

Nick carefully lowered Judy to the ground.

“First I gotta take a leak, though,” he said. “Be back in a bit.”

“You’re disgusting, Nick!” Judy called to him as he walked away.

“That’s what I like about you, Carrots” he said back, nonchalantly. “You tell it like it is.”

He stopped a few paces away from where Judy was sitting and unzipped his pants.

“Come _on_ , Nick, do you have to pee right there?” Judy yelled.

“Where else should I go?”

“Uh, I don’t know, anywhere else in the entire desert we have at our disposal?”

“You’re the boss, Fluff.”

Nick took another step forward and started emptying his bladder. Judy dragged a paw down her face.

“So why do you wanna know more about me, Carrots?” Nick asked over his shoulder. “Don’t know enough from living with me already?”

Judy shrugged. “It’s always fun to know more about someone. I just learned what your favorite food is a few minutes ago, and we’ve known each other for over a year. Plus you know so much about my family, but I know nothing about yours. Are you hiding anything?”

She heard Nick zip his fly and saw him walking back over to her. He plopped down in the sand and sighed.

“Nah . . . I mean . . . not really? I guess I’m just not the most open fox in the world. You remember ‘Never let them get to you’ and all that jazz.”

“Uh huh.”

They sat in silence for a moment.

“So how’s your relationship with your mom?” Judy asked.

Nick laid down in the sand and locked his paws behind his head with a satisfied grunt.

“Pretty good. We have a weekly phone call thing going on that basically can be summed up with, ‘You’re not depressed, right?’ ‘No, Mom, I’m fine.’ ‘Do I need to come over and help with anything? I can be down there in an hour.’ ‘No, Mom, I’m fine.’ ‘Do you have a girlfriend yet? You know how much I want grandchildren!’ ‘Mom, you ask this every week! Lay off!’”

Judy held a paw up to her mouth and giggled.

“When do these phone calls happen? I never hear you talking to anyone,” the bunny said.

“I do it while you’re asleep. As we both know, you like to hit the hay pretty early.”

“What? I’m a light sleeper! There’s no way you wouldn’t have woken me up.”

Nick snorted a laugh. “Are we talking about the same bunny here? You’re the deepest sleeper I’ve met in my life. One time I went into your room to see if you had any extra soap, and ended up taking like ten selfies next to your sleeping face.”

Judy furrowed her eyebrows. “You’re gonna have to show me this when we get back so I can personally delete them.”

“Fair enough.”

“What does your mom do for a living? I remember you telling me how she scraped up the cash to buy you a junior ranger scouts uniform.”

“Yeah, we weren’t exactly wealthy growing up. She’s been a nurse ever since I can remember. I think for over thirty years now?”

“Wow.”

“Mhmm. She’s a hard working vixen, she is.”

“We should invite her over for dinner some day.”

Nick’s eyes suddenly widened. “No!”

Judy looked at her partner quizzically.

“I mean . . . uh . . . noooooo thanks. We will not be doing that.”

“Why?”

“She just . . . has the tendency to let things slip about me. Embarrassing things. She’s my mom, and I love her, but I tell her everything. She doesn’t exactly understand what I want to keep confidential and what not.”

“I thought that you tell _me_ everything, too.”

“No, no, I do tell you everything, but I tell her _everything_. Understand?”

“ . . . No?”

“Nevermind.”

The sun started to wave goodbye as the peak of its head drifted away from view. Yellow, orange, and red blended together in the sky as darkness started to take place of the light. Nick unconsciously began to shiver.

“Listen, Nick,” Judy said as she placed a paw on his arm. “You really don’t have to be afraid to tell me anything that’s on your mind. I’ll understand.”

“I just don’t want you to hear anything that’ll ruin our rela–”

He paused.

“Holy _shit_ it’s getting cold fast!” Nick yelled.

He sat up and and embraced himself, teeth chattering. To Judy he looked like an exaggerated cartoon character.

“I _told_ you it’d be cold, Nick!” Judy said. “Remember?”

“Just shut up and help me out, Carrots! How do I get warmer?”

“Uh . . .”

The rabbit looked around. There weren’t any means of shelter as far as the eye could see, and no obvious ways of making a fire either. Just eternal sand and darkness.

“Nick, I think we’re just going to have to huddle together and hope for the best.”  
Nick’s ears noticeably perked at the proposition. “Will that help?” he asked doubtfully.

“Yeah, body heat and . . . yeah.”

They looked each other in the eyes for a second, but both of them quickly shied away

“So do I just . . .” Nick said.

“Just sorta . . .” Judy said.

They both laughed nervously.

“I think hugging each other would do the trick,” Judy said.

“ . . . Okay.”

Nick scooted slightly closer and awkwardly brought Judy into his arms. His muzzle rested between her ears. She felt like his paws were barely touching her.

“Don’t be afraid to squeeze me a little harder, Nick,” Judy said, chuckling. “I’m pretty cold, too, ya know.”

“Sorry, I just . . . I’ve never done this before.”

“Never cuddled a bunny, huh?”

“I’ve never really cuddled anybody, to be honest.”

Judy looked up at the fox that was holding her.

“Are you serious?” she asked.

Nick stayed silent.

“Pfffffft! Wow. I can’t believe the slyest, most smug fox in the world has never held a woman before.”

“Oh shut up, Carrots. As if you’re so experienced in this.”

“ _Actually_ , I’ve had plenty of boyfriends, believe it or not.”

Nick sighed, making Judy realize she might have brought this a bit too far.

“Hey, Nick, it’s nothing to worry about. Really.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’ll just tell you what to do and we’ll be warmer in no time. Okay?”

“Alright.”

“First, that tail of yours look _very_ warm, so that could definitely be of use to us. Mind wrapping that fluffy thing around me?”

“That’ll probably be too uncomfortable for me,” Nick said. “Despite popular belief these things aren’t very flexible.”

“What do you do with your tail when you sleep, then? Just let it sit behind you?”

“I usually just tuck it between my legs.”

Judy thought for a moment.

“That could work.”

“The . . . my tail?”

“Yeah, just put it between your legs and I’ll let it wrap around me.”

“Uh . . . okay, hold on.”

Judy felt a warm, soft, comfy object gently thump against her back, and immediately felt some more warmth flood into her.

“Ohhhh that is _nice_ ,” she said.

Nick chortled. “Don’t make things weird for me, Carrots.”  
“Yeah, yeah. Second thing, don’t be afraid to squeeze me closer. Rub my back a bit. Create some heat. Can you do that for me, sly guy?”

“Only because you asked so nicely.”

Judy felt more pressure on her back as she was slid closer to the fox. He started rubbing her back just as she instructed. She’d forgotten how big Nick’s paws were compared to her small frame, and marveled at the strange sensation of his paw pads against her fur.

 _Not bad for a newbie_ , she thought. _This would actually be really comfortable if not for the cold. Our bodies actually fit together pretty well. I could actually fall asleep like this. With Nick hol–_

“This good, Carrots?” Nick asked, interrupting Judy from her thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m starting to feel a little warmer now. You?”

“I’m still a mammal-icicle, but at least I have a warm bunny to hold now.”

“Har har.”

“No, seriously. I kinda like this.”

“Yeah . . . me too.”

They laid in silence for the rest of the night, shivering, but appreciating each other’s touch. Judy eventually drifted off to sleep, slightly in part from the blood loss she suffered, but sleep eluded Nick the entire night.

He was left wondering how the hell they were going to get out of this alive.

* * *

 Wolfard slipped his phone back in his pocket and sighed. He waved the bartender over and slipped her a twenty.

“Give me another two, darling. Keep the change,” he said.

“Call me ‘darling’ again and I punch your nose inside your brain,” the gazelle said.

“Duly noted, dear.”

The bartender rolled her eyes and went to get the timberwolf some more alcohol.

“You waiting on someone, Eugene?” she called over. “Or is this just a typical, lonely night for you?”

“Oh God, _please_ don’t call me Eugene. Wolfard will do.”

The bartender set the drinks down in front of him. “Only if you stop calling me ‘darling’ and ‘dear’ or anything of that manner,” she said. “Who do you think you are, Jack Savage?”

“Fair enough.”

Wolfard brought the beer to his lips and quietly gulped it down, letting the bitter taste sting his throat and add to his buzz.

“I _am_ waiting on someone, if you’re actually curious. The little shit blew me off.”

“Was it the fox guy you hang out with? Ned?”

“Nick.”

“Yeah, Nick.”

“We set this up earlier today and now he’s not answering any of my fucking texts. The guy never parts with his phone when I’m with him, but suddenly he’s nowhere to be found when we make plans? A little suspicious to me. The pup better be getting laid or something.”

“Well whatever happens, don’t get too drunk, hun. I’m not letting you drive home, and I hate to leave customers out on the street for the night.”

“Eh, I’ll just take a cab.”

The door to the bar opened suddenly, thunderous footsteps filling the room. Wolfard looked over to see his coworker, Trunkaby, walking in tiredly.

The wolf raised his paw and motioned the elephant to come over. He handed Trunkaby one of his two drinks when he sat down.

“Thanks, Wolfard. I really need this,” Trunkaby said, downing the pint as though it were a shot.

“The hell happened to you?” Wolfard asked. “Paperwork keep you at the station late?”

“You don’t know the half of it, man. Like four mammals got trampled at the concert today when some idiot pulled out a cap gun and started firing. Two of them are in pretty serious condition. Lots of broken bones.”

“Damn, dude. That sucks. Sorry to hear.”

“I’ll deal. How was your day?”

Wolfard shrugged. “The usual. Wilde blew me off tonight. Was gonna hang with him.”

He paused to sip his beer and looked over at Trunkaby.

“Say, you didn’t see Nick over at the station, did you?”

The elephant shook his head. “Me? No. Haven’t heard from him since this morning. You’re gonna have to ask Bogo what’s up if you want any info on that.”

“Ah. Okay.”

Wolfard didn’t get too drunk that night, but he was buzzed enough to constitute a ride home from Trunkaby. He lazily brushed his teeth, watched a bit of television, and climbed into bed. As he was going to sleep, he couldn’t help wondering what in the world Nick was doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the new chapter. As you can see, this thing’ll be really dialogue heavy, and kinda awkward at times. Just how I like it! Sorry I was a few days late from the deadline I set. New chapter will (hopefully) be out by January 31, as will my other fic, Under an Iron Fist. Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading.


	3. The Thirst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just barely made my deadline (in my time zone, at least). This would’ve been out a day or two ago, but I was busy playing Overwatch with my editor when we should’ve been editing. Special thanks to WhatABummer and DrummerMax64 for helping me out with this story. Also, Mirage has recently been featured on ZNN! Check out their website at www.zootopianewsnetwork.com, and if you want to read the review for Mirage, go here: http://www.zootopianewsnetwork.com/2018/01/story-mirage_22.html

****Dry.

Dessicated

Dehydrated.

Though often used to describe the desert, all applied to the  sorry state of Nick Wilde’s mouth.

The fox’s eyes fluttered open, and he found himself in the same position he’d barely managed to fall asleep in. The only difference was Judy was no longer in his embrace. Nick rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up.

The sun had just peeked over the horizon, and Nick squinted into its intense glare. The cold from last night was replaced by the familiar, dreadful heat. He looked at the city in the distance. It seemed just as far away as it did when they started.

“Ju–” he started before breaking into a coughing fit. Each one sent an even stronger ripple of pain down his throat. Nick attempted to swallow, but the utter lack of saliva left his efforts in vain.

“Nick? You alright?” Judy’s voice called out from behind him. She put a paw above her eyes to shield herself from the sun and limped over to him.

“My–” he paused for a second to cough, “–throat is _really_ dry, Carrots.” The fox’s voice came out as scratchy and weak, like a newborn cub grating its claws against a chalkboard.

Judy kneeled beside him with a pained grunt. “Sorry, I was scouting out the area. Are you feeling disoriented?” she asked in a concerned tone. “Can’t see very well?”

Nick nodded.

The bunny looked away and chewed her lower lip. “You’re dehydrated, Nick. My ears help out a lot with heat regulation, but foxes are going to have a bit more trouble with that. You only drinking coffee yesterday is definitely an added factor.”

Nick rolled his eyes at this.

“We need to get you water, and fast.”

“I–” he started.

“Shh, just be quiet for now, Nick,” she said, putting a finger to her lips. “Talking’s just gonna make things worse. You’re good at talking with your paws, right?”

Nick nodded again.

“Good. Can you try and stand up for me?”

The fox exhaled, rubbed both of his paws over his face, and shook his head to clear his senses. He put a paw on the ground to support himself and slowly got up, having trouble with his balance at first, but managing to stay on his feet.

“Hey!” he whispered excitedly. “I can sti–”

“Nick, seriously!” Judy said. “You can’t talk. I shouldn’t be talking so much either. Next thing I know, I’ll be dehydrated too.”

The bunny grabbed onto Nick’s arm and hoisted herself up, the fox promptly bending over so she could sling her arm around his neck. Nick teetered his weight from side to side as they began to walk. Holding another mammal upright was going to be just that much harder when in such a weakened state, and the odds were already stacked against the two of them.

They made way at an even slower pace than before. The thought of never making it back wormed its way into Nick’s head, gnawing at his already very long list of worries.

His feet squished in the sand step after step, the heat of the sun causing every grain to carry a slight sting of pain. Judy leaned against him like a wounded soldier, and although he felt the overwhelming urge to fall over and rest, he knew that he needed to keep going. Giving up was certain death, but if the duo kept going then maybe the both of them would make it out alive. Or at the very least, Nick could make sure Judy got through this.

In his mind, the world wouldn’t be missing anything special if Nick died out here. Sure, a _few_ people would be sad, but that would be the extent of it. If Judy died, however, the world would have lost an essential beam of light. A light that made bad people good, and good people better. She was too important to die here.

The fox blinked and snapped back into the real world. They had been trudging along for a couple hours now, and his mouth was drier than ever. His legs felt like rubber cement. He was feeling faint, close to collapsing and he knew it. He spotted a standing figure a few hundred meters away, and his eyes widened as he thought of an idea.

He nudged Judy to get her attention and pointed.

“Huh?” she said. She followed Nick’s finger and squinted. “A cactus?” she asked.

Nick nodded, opened his mouth, and pointed inside of it.

“Nick, cactus water is toxic. You’d honestly be better off without–”

She suddenly realized Nick’s idea as well.

“Cactuses have fruit!” she said.

“Cacti,” he replied with a smirk.

“First, shut up, you shouldn’t be talking. And second, cactuses is the English plural of cactus while cacti is the Latin, so technically–”

Nick twirled his paw in the “hurry it up” motion.

“Sorry. You want to eat the fruit because they have water in them, right?”

He nodded.

“Let’s go get you hydrated, then!”

It took them a good ten minutes to travel the small distance to the cactus, but they eventually made it.

The cactus stood at twice Nick’s height, and had five fruits that looked a bit like pears with chicken pox. The fox instinctively reached up to grab one and take a bite, but when the pads of his paw touched the fruit, he yelped and pulled away in pain.

“Nick? What’s wrong?” Judy took Nick’s paw and looked at it. It wasn’t very noticeable, but there seemed to be hundreds of tiny white needles piercing his paw. She lightly touched his pads, causing him to grimace in pain again.

“Darn it, we need to find some way to peel this without hurting ourselves,” Judy said.

Nick nodded in agreement as he attempted to pluck the small thorns out of his palm. When he felt he had done a good enough job to make the pain more bearable, he patted down his pockets with his good paw. His ears perked when he felt a slight lump, and he pulled out his coffee-stained phone.

Judy was examining the cactus when she heard the shatter. She flinched and took a step back, only to collapse under her own weight due to her wound. She saw Nick lean over and pick up the innards of his demolished phone.

“Nick?” she said, confused.

He held up a finger, telling her to wait a minute. The fox took off his police jacket, wrapped it around his good paw as a makeshift glove, and reached up to the fruit, plucking it off the cactus. He then took the circuit board of the phone and used it as a knife, managing to cut off the skin of the prickly pear with a bit of strain. After a few painstaking minutes (and more than a few slips, resulting in some more needles to pluck out for Nick), the fruit was ready to eat.

Judy kneeled next to Nick and watched him intently as he took a hesitant bite.

He immediately started coughing, and covered his mouth to stop the chewed-up bits of fruit from escaping.

“You okay?” Judy asked.

Nick let out another cough. “I–” He coughed again. “I think it might taste better cooked,” he whispered.

The bunny laughed. “Do you think it’s going to help at all though? Is it juicy?”

“A little, yeah.”

“Can I get a bite?”

Nick took another small chomp out of the fruit and offered the rest to his partner. She took it and eyed the food; its color; its shape; the carnivorous teeth marks on one of the ends. With a bit of hesitation, she popped the rest in her mouth, then furrowed her eyebrows.

“It’s kinda sweet. Like a kiwi mixed with a watermelon. Tastes fine to me,” she said, shrugging.

Nick rolled his eyes. “Of course it does. You’re an herbivore.”

“You’re an _omni_ vore!”

“I have a refined pallet.”

“Oh please, you have a refined everything.”

“Whatever. I’ll just peel some more fruit while you criticize me.”

Nick smirked and grabbed another fruit with his gloved paw.

The bunny watched him struggle to peel off the skin for a moment before holding out her paw.

“Let me do it,” she said. “Your paw’s hurt.”

“I got it,” he replied, sticking out his tongue in concentration.

“Come on, Nick, there’s no one here to impress. Just let me do it.”

“ _You’re_ here.”

Judy’s ears drooped behind her head as Nick finished peeling off the last thorny strip of the fruit. He sliced it in half and placed a piece in Judy’s open palm.

The fox tossed his half in his mouth and chewed quickly, a sour look on his face. Judy nibbled on hers.

“This’ll help my thirst a bit, but only for so long,” Nick said. “We need to stop at every cactus we come across if we want to stay hydrated.”

Judy took a look at her surroundings. There wasn’t another cactus in sight.

“We’ll need to save those other three fruits for later,” she said.

Nick sighed and stood up, slipping the circuit board in his pocket. He plucked the last three fruits off the cactus and wrapped them in his jacket. Judy watched him offer her his good paw, the sun behind him silhouetting his figure.

“Let’s get a move on,” he said.

The rabbit took his paw.

* * *

 Wolfard looked at his watch, groaned, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He slipped his notebook into his shirt pocket, deciding that it wasn’t going to be useful considering the inane witness reporting he was getting.

“Alright, so lemme get this straight,” the timberwolf said, staring down the yak in front of him. Wolfard couldn’t help noticing the lack of deodorant on the mammal’s body. He shriveled his nostrils in disgust. “You don’t remember what street you were on when they went by. You didn’t see what direction they went. You don’t know how many mammals were in the black van. And when you tried to take a video of the chase, you accidentally used the front-facing camera, getting an useless clip of your face.”

The yak scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah . . . I mean, I guess, dude,” he said.

“Do I look like a moron to you?”

He shrugged. “I couldn’t say for sure, Officer, I don’t know you very well, and–”

“Just . . .” Wolfard sighed. “Please stop, okay? This was clearly a waste of my time.”

The wolf turned around and started walking back to his squad car.

“Hey, wait, dude!” the yak yelled out.

Wolfard stopped and took a deep breath. “What?” he said in an irritated tone.

“Do you wanna see the video at least? I got my phone right here.”

“No . . . sir,” he said, trying not to spit out the words. “Talk to me when you have some real information.”

Wolfard climbed into his vehicle and slammed the door, deciding to go back to the station with his nonexistent results.

His head throbbed a bit from last night’s events at the bar, but at this point he barely felt it. The timberwolf had been waking up hungover at least three days a week since he was sixteen, so the aftermath of a handful of beers was nothing more than a mild inconvenience to him. And seeing as nobody knew the whereabouts of Judy and Nick on his mind, a slight headache was the least of his worries.

On his way, Wolfard pulled over an otter going fifteen above the speed limit. The officer mumbled his words incomprehensibly while writing his ticket, to the point where the otter eventually gave up begging for him to ‘be cool’ and ‘lay off’. It was clear that Wolfard was out of fucks to give.

Wolfard pulled into the parking lot sloppily, the tires of his squad car bleeding into the space next to him. He hopped out and closed the door, not bothering to lock it. At this point, he was in too poor a mood to care much about ZPD property.

He made his way up to the second floor of the precinct building and pounded on Chief Bogo’s door.

“Come in,” he heard the buffalo’s low voice say.

Bogo was sitting at his desk, reading a file. His hoof was holding his glasses right in front of his eyes, as if he were afraid they would slip off at any moment.

“Chief, you can’t expect me to find two missing officers all by myself,” Wolfard complained, sitting on the chair by Bogo’s desk.

“Did I invite you to sit down, Wolfard?”

The wolf quickly jumped out of his seat like he was sitting on hot coals. “Sorry, Chief,” he said.

Bogo stared Wolfard down for a moment.

“. . . Sit.”

Wolfard sat back down, joining his paws on top of his legs.

“Look, Chief, you have to take this more seriously,” Wolfard said. “Two officers missing for twenty-four hours shouldn’t be responded with a one-mammal show. There’s nothing to go off of here.” He threw his notebook on Bogo’s desk. “The witness reports I managed to get turned out to be nothing of use. We need a full-scale investigation.”

Chief Bogo sighed and put down his glasses. “I can pair you with another officer to sort this out, but with two of our own missing, and more looking for them, we’re limited on what we can cover elsewhere in the city.”

“Yeah, well they might be gone forever if we don’t go out and find them,” Wolfard said, squeezing his paws even tighter in his lap.

“Officer Hopps and Officer Wilde are very exceptional at what they do. I’m sure they’ll turn up fine sooner or later.”

“They were in a fucking car chase!”

Bogo slammed a hoof on his desk and pointed it accusingly at Wolfard. “Don’t you raise your voice at me, Officer! You know damn well I care about these mammals’ lives just as much as you do, so don’t you _dare_ go around thinking any different.”

The two had a battle of eye contact, both of them fighting for dominance. Wolfard eventually gave up and looked down.

“Now I want you to get out there, and find those missing officers. Do I make myself clear?” Bogo asked.

“Your voice is so damn loud everything you say is crystal,” Wolfard muttered.

“What did you s–”

Chief Bogo’s intercom beeped, and Clawhauser’s voice came through.

“Uh, Chief, someone here wants to speak with Officer Wolfard. Is he with you right now?”

Bogo frowned at Wolford one last time before turning his attention to the intercom. “Yes,” he said. “Send them up.”

The two sat there in silence for a bit. Wolfard cleared his throat. Bogo scratched his wrist.

Nobody came to the door.

“Do you want me to uh . . . to go check and see where they are?” Wolfard asked.

“Sure.”

Wolfard peeked out the door, and when he looked to his left, he saw the yak he spoke to earlier. He was standing in front of a completely different room.

“Hello?” Wolfard said. “Yak dude, over here.”

The yak looked the opposite way, then turned his head and saw the wolf waving at him.

“Oh!” the yak said. “Sorry, I thought you guys were in this room o’er here.”

“Yeah, that’s the utility room. It says ‘Utilities’ on the door.”

They walked into Bogo’s office. The buffalo was clearly displeased to have such a foul-smelling mammal in his presence.

“Chief Bogo, this is one of the witnesses of the chase, Yax.”

Bogo had his glasses back on, and was examining Wolfard’s notebook.

“Is this the one that took the video of himself instead of the chase?” the buffalo asked.

Wolfard put his paws in his pockets and sighed. “Yep, this is the one.” He turned to Yax. “Mind telling us why you’re here, buddy?”

The yak was busy trying to catch one of the several flies buzzing around his head.

“Hey,” Wolfard said, shaking Yax’s arm. “Dude, pay attention. Why’re you here?”

“Oh! Yeah, I’m here cuz I remembered something about that van I saw the other day.”

He stood there for a moment with a dumb smile on his face.

“And?” Bogo asked.

“And what?”

“For fuck’s sake, what did you remember about the van?” Wolfard said.

“Oh yeah, uh, I remembered the license plate number.”

The wolf processed what he heard, looked at Bogo, and then back to Yax.

“Chief,” he said. “Mind tossing me my notebook?”

* * *

 Nightfall was approaching yet again, and the duo had already eaten two of their three remaining fruits. They had not come across another cactus since the first one, but at least they would get a break from the sun

 _An entire desert, but not a single cactus in sight,_ Nick thought. _I need to have a word with the city council about this madness._

Nick had resorted to saying all of his snarky comments in his head, just so Judy wouldn’t get angry with him for speaking aloud. He found that without an audience, his jokes had considerably less of a payoff.

The fox’s thirst was approaching the severity it was at in the morning, and his energy was declining quickly. Judy wasn’t faring so well either; her gash had stopped bleeding, but she had lost too much blood for it not to have an effect on her. She found herself having to lean more and more weight on her partner, but Nick didn’t have much vitality to keep both of them up for much longer.

Nick stopped, panting to catch his breath and tolerate the heat.

The rabbit looked up at him sympathetically. “Need to stop for the night?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Alright. We’ll have the last fruit first thing in the morning, and hopefully we’ll find some more cactuses.”

“Ok,” Nick defeatedly replied.

“Hey . . .”

Judy lightly turned Nick’s face with her paw so their eyes could meet.

“We’re going to make it out of this. Both of us,” she said.

Nick nodded again and looked down.

“Now let’s get some rest. We need the energy for tomorrow.”

They both plopped down in the sand, Nick wrapping himself around the bunny as he had done the previous night.

Neither of them moved, spoke, or slept for a few hours.

Nick felt the body against him start sporadically exhaling, but not in the way one would when they’re asleep. He heard a small hiccup. Then he heard the bunny’s voice quiver.

The fox pulled Judy in closer, resting his muzzle in between her ears.

“I believe you, Carrots,” he whispered. “We’ll be alright.”

He kissed her forehead and tried to get some rest.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! New chapter will be out by the 28th of February (but probably on the 28th if I know myself well enough).


	4. The Light

It took Judy nearly twenty minutes to wake the fox up and get him on his feet. He now leaned more against her than she did against him while they walked. The two had covered around half the distance back to the city, but the bunny was losing more hope by the second. Nick was badly dehydrated, and his symptoms were noticeably worsening.

He stumbled with each step, mumbling something incoherent every once in awhile. Judy had given him the entirety of their last fruit around an hour ago, but he didn’t show any signs of improvement.

Judy’s eyes darted from left to right, trying to scope out another cactus to get her partner the water he needed, but she came up empty-pawed.

Her ears darted up every time she heard Nick speak.

“You can see it any tiiiiiime when you get the _squints_ ,” he sang.

Judy stopped. “Nick?” she asked.

“Yuh huh?”

“You alright?”

“Yeah. Why?”

She looked at him for a bit longer before she wrapped her arm around the fox’s waist and continued walking.

“Nothing,” she said.

They walked for a few minutes before he started singing again.

“You’re so biiiiiiig, it’s so tiny! Every cloud is silver line-y.”

Judy tugged Nick’s arm, turning him towards her. He was smiling, not bothering to attempt eye contact.

“Nick!” she yelled. “What are you saying?”

The fox rolled his eyes. “You _said_ you liked the song!”

“Wh _–_ . . . I– . . .” She sighed and held up two of her digits. “Nick, how many fingers am I holding up?”

Nick squinted at her, clearly having trouble keeping his gaze on her fingers and silently worded something to himself, as if he was counting.

“Thr– . . . no, two. Two.”

The heat stroke was definitely setting in, but he was still hanging on–if only barely.

Judy pursed her lips and stressfully cracked her knuckles. She used to do it all the time when she lived in Bunnyburrow, but it was a habit she thought she had broken since she became an officer. This ordeal seemed to be bringing out parts of her she assumed she had gotten rid of.

They pressed on, but the hot sun created a barrier of some sorts, increasing the effort of every step. It was like trying to swim, but instead of water the two were submerged in gelatin.

Judy noticed Nick’s awareness was deteriorating at an alarming rate. Beads of sweat gleamed on the tip of his black nose, and his tongue hung out of his mouth, a pink, dry strip of flesh that needed hydration immediately.

“Carrots, wher err we?” he said slowly, slurring through the words.

She looked at him for a second and turned back forward.

“We’re gonna be walking for awhile, Nick,” she said, avoiding his question.

“I’m _tirrrre_ ,” he mumbled, looking down at his feet while he teetered and tottered on the sand.

“Just . . .” Judy said before stopping and pulling Nick down to eye level. She squeezed his muzzle shut and brought a finger to her mouth, signaling for him to stop speaking. “Just don’t talk anymore, okay?”

Nick smiled dumbly and nodded.

They kept walking.

The bunny made a habit of counting her steps as she walked, starting over every time she reached a new number. It kept her focused, concentrated.

_One . . . one, two . . . one, two, three . . . one, two, three, four . . ._

_You’re going to die out here, Judy._

She winced, but kept counting.

_One, two, three, four, five . . . one, two, three, four, five, si–_

_They won’t find your corpses for months, years . . . both you and Nick will be gone forever._

“Carrtss, I’m _really_ tirrre though,” Nick said.

_One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine . . ._

_Give up. There’s no point in trying. Just give up._

“No,” she growled under her breath.

“Wha?” Nick asked.

_Twelve, thirteen . . . Did I already do that? I’m losing track._

Nick reeled over, and with most of his body weight already on the bunny, the last several pounds sent her toppling as well.

The fox laid on his back and gave a sigh of relief.

“Gonna . . . reeeeeeest,” he said euphorically.

_Just stop already, it’ll be easier._

Judy brushed the sand off her uniform and hugged her injured leg, the fall igniting another wave of pain. She reached over and caressed the side of Nick’s face.

“Alright,” she whispered, her ears drooping down behind her head. “We can rest.”

She laid down beside him.

* * *

 The sand parted under Nick’s feet, forming a long, narrow sidewalk for him. Grains of earth slid off the edges, a waterfall of brown and yellow. He looked down into the infinite nothingness below as the dust sprinkled away to black.

The fox looked ahead.

The sky was a blood red, with strains of milky white interrupting the color’s solidity. The city could be seen in the distance, a brilliant, bright light atop its tallest building reaching up into the sky, as if summoning all mammals within sight of this beacon.

Nick carefully walked forward, mindful to not misstep and fall off of the sand path. It led a perfectly straight line to his destination, a single strip of sand contrasted by a seemingly endless void on either side.

His arms didn’t swing as he made his way to the beacon; he clutched them close, his mouth agape and his stare blank as he trudged along inch by inch. There was no way for him to know for sure, but he felt that that light was promising him incomprehensible wonders. Joy. Bliss. Anything any mammal could ever ask for. It was all there. It was all in that light. It was all there for him to take–if he could but reach it.

Nick increased his pace, his mouth watering at the prospect of this untold fortune. He licked his lips and scratched his upper arm, growing more and more desperate to have this. His feet began to grow numb, the ruthless sand taking away all feeling his nerves once knew.

And yet he wasn’t going anywhere.

It was like he was walking on a treadmill. His limbs were moving, he was going forward, but no progress was being made. The beacon flickered like a poorly screwed-in light bulb, threatening to give out if Nick didn’t make it there soon.

“No!” he screamed desperately, breaking into a sprint. His arms pumped and his legs moved, but the city never got any closer.

The beacon gave one last dying breath and simmered away.

His pace began to slow steadily until he came to a complete stop. The fox sank to his knees and stifled a sob.

It was dark now. Really dark.

Nick was still kneeling on a solid surface, but the sand was gone. It was just him, nothing else.

“Nick?” a voice called out.

He recognized it.

“Judy?” he said, getting back to his feet. “Judy, I don’t know where I am!”

“No! Oh, Nick!” Judy said, her voice cracking ever so slightly.

“Hopps, are you okay? Where are you?”

Nick spun around, but was only met with black.

“No, Nick! Don’t do this; fight it!” he heard her yell.

“What? What’s going on?”

He did another one-eighty, but this time he saw the rabbit.

She was injured, her right leg now instead of her left. She seemed to be scrambling to get away from something, or perhaps someone, but her injury resulted in a limp that slowed her down.

There was a snarl, a growl, almost, and Judy collapsed on her back, still attempting to crawl away.

Something came out of the shadows. A small, orange predator on all fours made its way into Nick’s view. It growled again, curling his upper lip in hate, and Judy flinched. Nick shook his head and rubbed his eyes, not believing what was in front of him.

It was him. It was Nick.

“Oh, Nick . . . no . . .” Judy managed to utter.

Nick bared his teeth and pounced.

* * *

 Judy wasn’t exactly asleep, but she was far from awake.

In her mind’s eye she was back at Bunnyburrow. She was sitting at the dinner table with her parents, her hundreds of brothers and sisters, and a pitcher of ice cold lemonade was being passed from hand to hand, inching ever closer to her. It was just in reach and . . .

Nick was screaming.

_Wait what?_ Judy thought.

Nick was no longer beside her, but the screams sounded like they were close by.

The bunny snapped back to reality and quickly darted to her feet, ignoring the searing pain of her leg.

“Nick?” she called out.

“No, no, I didn’t _mean_ to! It wasn’t my _fault_!”

She followed the sound of his voice, eventually spotting him beyond a small dune of sand. He was hunched over with his back turned to her, clutching the ground and heaving.

“Nick!” she yelled, limping over to him as fast as she could.

She knelt down next to him and put a paw on his back, but this only seemed to frighten him more.

He backed away, still frantically moaning, looking from left to right with wide eyes. He wiped his mouth and then stared at his paw, somehow looking even more scared than before.

“No no no get _off_ of me!” He started scratching at his muzzle violently, drawing blood. “It wasn’t me! I couldn’t do this! It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me, it _–_ ”

“Nick _–_ ” Judy said.

“You can’t be dead!” he screamed, his voice breaking under his sheer intensity. “I’m sorry! I _need_ you! I didn’t mean to do this!”

“Nick, what’s wrong? I’m right here! It’s okay!” Judy said, trying her best to comfort him.

Nick’s eyes centered on Judy, but she knew that he was looking right through her.

“You can’t die,” the fox said. “Please don’t die.” He fell down onto the sand and curled into a fetal position. “You’re all I have,” he whispered.

Judy edged closer to him and attempted physical contact again. He shivered when he felt her paw but didn’t try to move away. Nick was still visibly crying, but no tears were shed. He was too dehydrated to even manage _that_.

She sat cross-legged by his crippled figure.

_He has twenty-four hours left, tops_ , she thought. _And there’s no way he’ll be able to walk anymore._

Judy looked off into the city.

_But would there even be a point in me trying by myself? I won’t be able to survive much longer without water either, and there’s still a ways to go before I can even say I’m close to the city._

She groaned and fell back onto the sand, covering her face with her paws.

_See? I told you. You’re going to die out here, Judy._

“Oh yeah?” she said out loud. “Well, whatever you are . . . if I die, I’m taking you with me.” She smiled and chuckled grimly.

It was then that she heard the engine.

* * *

 Wolfard leaned an elbow on the desk, boredly inspecting his claws.

The DMV was chilly. Not enough to make the officer shiver–the wolf’s thick coat was keeping the worst of it out, but it was certainly uncomfortable.

He raised his nose and sniffed, catching a scent that made the skin on the bridge of his muzzle shrivel up in disgust.

_Why does it smell like old people in here?_ he thought. _Damn, it even_ smells _boring in this place._

He looked over at the mammal assisting him and decided to try out some small talk.

“So Flash, you and Nick are pals . . . that right?” he asked the sloth behind the counter.

Flash slowly looked up at Wolfard and turned his attention back down.

“Yes,” he answered.

Wolfard cleared his throat and waited before asking another question. This place was starting to make him uncomfortable.

“So . . . uh . . . you been seein’ anyone lately?”

Flash slowly looked up at Wolfard, then slowly looked over to the female sloth sitting in the chair next to him. She returned his stare expectedly. He slowly turned his attention back to the wolf.

“Yes,” he finally said. The female sloth smiled to herself.

“Oh yeah?” Wolfard asked. “She a looker?”

Flash repeated the process of looking to his left and then back to Wolfard. It was a mind-numbingly unhurried action.

“Yes,” he said again.

“Well congrats, dude. I haven’t been so lucky myself. Been dyin’ for some tail lately.”

Flash slowly raised his paw to his mouth and coughed. This took about ten seconds.

They waited in silence for a bit.

“So what’s the holdup?” the timberwolf asked.

“The . . . computer . . . needs . . . time . . . to . . . process . . . the  . . . plate . . . number . . . and . . . find . . . a . . . match,” Flash said.

“Ah.”

The female sloth slowly put a sign on her desk that read, “Back in 15 minutes!”. She slowly got out of her seat.

“I’m . . . going . . . to . . . the . . . break . . . room,” she said. “Do . . . you . . . want . . . anything . . . Flash?”

“Coffee . . . please,” he replied.

“Anything . . . with . . . it?”

Wolfard closed his eyes and sighed impatiently.

“Just . . . cream. Thank . . . you . . . Priscilla.”

She slowly walked away. Flash smiled in her direction, and when she was out of earshot, pointed one of his long sharp claws at her.

“Her,” Flash whispered.

“Hm?” Wolfard asked. “‘Her’ what?”

“She’s . . . a . . . freak . . . in . . . bed.”

Wolfard looked at Flash and widened his eyes.

“You’re fucking kidding!”

“Nope. Can . . . barely . . . keep . . . up. Leaves . . . me . . . breathless . . . every . . . time.”

“Shit . . . Is it any good, though?”

Flash half-lidded his eyes and smiled.

“You . . . wouldn’t . . . even . . . believe . . . it . . . bro,” Flash said.

The timberwolf laughed and held out his paw for a high-five.

“Give it ‘ere, bro!”

Flash took twelve seconds to exchange the high-five, and then the computer beeped.

“Can you print that out for me actually?” Wolfard asked. “I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to.” Then he added: “Not that talking to you isn’t fun or anything.”

“Yes,” Flash said, slowly pressing a few buttons on his keyboard. The plate info started coming out of a small printer behind where Flash was sitting.

He slowly ripped off the slip of paper, a process that was oddly satisfying for Wolfard to watch, and handed it over.

“Sweet. Thanks, Flash,” Wolfard said. “You keep me updated on that thing you got goin’ on, yeah?”

“You . . . got . . . it.”

He gave the sloth a quick salute and started walking to the door, reading the plate info as he went.

“Nocturnal District. Interesting,” he said to himself.

He stepped outside and put his paws on his hips, sighing. He knew that he’d end up panting later, but the warmth he was feeling at the moment was nice after being in the chilly DMV for so long.

He went off to his squad car in the parking lot, but noticed a female timberwolf on the sidewalk. She was pretty cute.

The girl looked in Wolfard’s direction for a split second, so he smiled and nodded to her in acknowledgement. She merely rolled her eyes and kept walking.

Wolfard dropped his smile and sighed again. “I’m getting fucking hammered tonight,” he muttered to himself.

He got in his car and made his way back to the station.

* * *

 “Hey! Over here!” Judy yelled out, waving her arms.

The vehicle was around two-hundred meters away. Possibly a station wagon.

The bunny shielded her eyes from the sun and squinted, trying to get a better look. Nick groaned beside her, and she patted his head.

“Don’t worry, Nick. Someone’s here. We’re gonna be alright.” She looked back out at the vehicle. It was driving perpendicularly to their position. If she didn’t catch the driver’s attention fast, they were as good as dead.

“I need to get closer so he notices me, okay?” she said to the fox. “Don’t move. I’ll be back soon.”

Nick groaned again in response.

Judy pushed herself up to her feet, but immediately fell back down again.

_Right,_ she thought. _My leg. This is gonna be tough._

The car was going by fast, its back wheels kicking up twin rooster tails that left a long trail of dust behind it, like a comet streaking across the sky. Judy wasn’t ready to let it get away though.

Adrenaline started pumping through her veins, and she got up again, breaking out into the fast limp she could manage. She chose a diagonal path to the car to maximize her chances of the driver seeing her crippled figure amidst the ocean of sand. If she went quickly enough she might just make it.

Her legs screamed, lactic acid boiling her muscles as they moved, but she grinded her teeth and tried to ignore it. Yet she found herself slowing down anyway.

_Come on, Judy, you got this,_ the bunny thought. _This is nothing compared to basic training, right?_ She smiled and picked up her pace.

The car wasn’t going very fast in the first place, maybe fifteen miles an hour; a station wagon doesn’t fare so well in the desert, so the driver was being careful with whatever he was doing out here. Judy felt the gap between her and the vehicle closing.

The car started to slow down.

“Yes!” Judy yelled triumphantly. She waved her arms and tried to limp even faster. “Over here!”

The car came to a complete stop, and a mammal stepped out. The mammal walked around the hood of the car and waved to the bunny. The sun was directly facing Judy, so all of the mammal’s features were blotted out through her point of view.

She was maybe fifty meters away from him now, so she stopped running so she could catch her breath. The adrenaline now gone, she collapsed, heart beating out of her chest. Judy looked up and saw that the mammal was taller than her, but she couldn’t quite make out its species.

“Can you bring your car over here?” she said between gasps. “My leg’s injured!” There was no way she would even manage the short distance to this mammal after all of that.

“Is it just you?” the mammal asked. Judy assumed it was a male from the gruff voice.

“What?” she said.

“Are you alone?”

Judy furrowed her eyebrows. She figured the first question to ask a half-dead stranger in the middle of the desert would be, “Are you okay?”.

“No, there’s another back there,” she pointed over her shoulder. “I’m Officer Judy Hopps. My partner and I have been stranded out here the past several days. We need water and medical assistance as soon as possible. Now can you bring your car over here please?”

The stranger didn’t say anything for a moment.

“Okay,” he said.

He got back into his car, fired it up, and drove it to Judy’s position. He got back out of the car and squatted down next to the rabbit, as if he was studying her.

It was a mountain goat with white fur. He had a small scar on his right cheek, just below the eye, and there was a mismatched patch of black fur in a ring surrounding his neck, as if he dyed it that way.

“Do you have any water?” Judy asked.

The mammal stared at her.

“Sir?”

The goat blinked and stuttered: “Oh, uhh, yeah. In my trunk.”

“My partner and I need it quite badly. Would you mind helping me in the passenger seat, Mister . . .”

“Trevor,” he finished for her. “Just call me Trevor or something.”

He hooked his arms around her shoulders and under her knees, hoisted her up, and brought her to the passenger door.

“Can you grab the handle for me?” he asked.

Judy did as he asked, and she was placed inside the dirty station wagon. Fast food wrappers and expired coupons were cluttered around her, and the cupholders looked sticky.

She heard the door shut and the goat started the car.

“Can I get that water you were talking about now?” Judy asked.

“Which way’s your friend?”

Judy’s ears drooped. She pointed again.

He again drove at a slow pace, careful not to get a tire stuck in any loose sand.

Nick’s sprawled body was eventually visible in his similarly colored surroundings. There were marks in the sand behind him, showing that he tried crawling somewhere since Judy left him. He hadn’t gotten very far.

The goat abruptly stopped the car, throwing Judy against her seatbelt. He got out and opened Judy’s door for her, helping her out. She didn’t know why she had to get out, too, but she went along with it anyway.

“This him?” the goat asked, staring down at the fox, and nudging him with his foot. Nick muttered something incohesive.

“Uh . . . yeah,” Judy replied. She limped over to Nick and shook him by his shoulders. “Nick, someone’s here. We’re going to get you to a hospital as soon as we can.” She turned around. “Trevor, we could really use that water right n–”

Trevor was holding a gun in his right hoof, his other pressing a flip phone against his ear.

“Boss?” he said. “I– . . . Sorry, sir.” The goat idly used his gun hand to scratch the side of his torso. “Yeah, I found ‘em. Want me to pop ‘em now?”

Judy’s eyes widened, her pulse quickening. She scooted closer to the nearly unconscious fox.

“Wait what?” he said, looking down at his phone in confusion. “Why? I’ve got them both right here. Nobody else around.”

He listened to whomever was on the other end of the call and clenched his teeth.

“Yeah, I can do that, sir,” he finally said. “I’ll see you in an hour or two, sir.”

He shut the phone and slipped it back into his pocket, then went around to the trunk of the station wagon and started rummaging around.

“Carrts . . . I miss yer,” Nick said, his words almost slurred beyond recognition. Judy took his paw in her own and squeezed it.

Trevor came back into view, rope in the hoof that was previously clutching a phone.

“You two are coming with me,” he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be out by March 31. Thanks for reading!


	5. The Cell

Judy had lost track of how long she and Nick had been in the goat’s car. Once ropes had been tied around her to immobilize her arms and legs, she finally succumbed to the overwhelming fatigue that she had barely kept at bay the past few days. She was dead tired, drifting in and out of consciousness throughout the ride, only bumps in the city streets breaking her from her stupor. Nick, however, stayed limp no matter how much the car tossed him around.

The goat had lied about there being water in the car. 

He was pleasantly surprised when Judy couldn’t muster the energy to fight back while he was tying her up, previous stints of his seldom being so easy. The bodies were easy to carry as well. He tucked the bunny under one arm, the fox under the other, and tossed them in the trunk, taking no notice of Judy’s cry when her head struck the back seat. He shut the door and flexed his muscles, smirking to himself. The gym must have been paying off.

As Judy lay there in the back of the car, she had only her thoughts for company. These thoughts were for the most part involuntary—they were more dreams than thoughts—but she remembered them nonetheless. She was blindfolded, and was having trouble discerning whether her eyes were open or not.

Her parents were more than likely worried half to death. Considering how they had  made such a huge deal about relatively small things, like whether or not Judy was using enough toothpaste, she couldn’t imagine how stressed out they must be. They’d expressed their concerns about Judy’s line of work after the climax of the Nighthowler case, but this situation was even more dire. Judy had been missing for days, and if her parents didn’t get the hint from her not returning their calls, they had probably been notified by the ZPD. 

She could picture them now, sitting at the kitchen table, biting their nails and checking their phones every five minutes. Her father probably broke out the whiskey for the first time in a decade, staring blankly into a glass and blaming himself for not noticing sooner. 

The car came to a very sudden halt, giving Judy enough of a sensory kick for her to focus on what was going on. The driver-side door opened and shut, and the car remained immobile for around forty seconds—seconds which Judy counted under her breath.

The muffled voices of two mammals could be heard in another room. Judy’s long, furry ears perked up, trying to pick up the sounds. One she could recognize as Trevor--if that  _ was _ even his real name—but the other was unfamiliar.

“. . . can assume that they are both living and breathing?” the unfamiliar male voice asked.

“Yes, sir,” the muffled voice belonging to Trevor responded. “I got ‘em in the back over here. They’re lookin’ pretty banged up though. I think they might need some water or something.”  

Footsteps approached the trunk of the car, and light shot through Judy’s blindfold as the door opened. She immediately sneezed, a multitude of dust wafting into the car from the outside. Judy took note of this; they’re either for some reason still in the desert, or they’re in a gross, old building. Either option didn’t sound appealing to her.

“Officer Wilde does not appear to be in the best of condition,” the voice said. The mammal snapped his fingers. “Get the fox some water, please. Do it intravenously if necessary. I do not want him dead yet.”

Judy winced at his use of the word “yet”.

“I will take care of Officer Hopps,” the mammal finished.

“Gotcha, sir,” Trevor said. 

Nick’s limp form brushed against the rabbit as he was pulled out of the car. Trevor grunted as he carried her partner away.

This left Judy and the mammal alone.

“I know you are awake, Officer Hopps. That was quite a mighty sneeze you uttered,” he said.

Judy felt the weight of the car shift more towards the end. The mammal must have been sitting on the back of the car. She chose to remain silent.

“I must admit, Judy . . . may I call you Judy?”

Again, Judy said nothing.

“Well, I must admit that I have been waiting for this moment for quite a while. It is very satisfying to have you here before me. The circumstances are so much different than I imagined, however I believe this meeting will be just as sweet as I had hoped. . . perhaps even sweeter.”

The mammal caressed Judy’s cheek, and she instinctively turned her face away and shot out her legs. Her legs were stopped mid-motion; the mammal had grabbed them before they could make contact. Judy gasped as she was forcefully dragged out of the car, having the wind knocked out of her when she collided with the concrete floor. She groaned. Her left shoulder had taken the brunt of the fall.

The mammal’s voice spoke softly but firmly in her ear.

“Officer Hopps, you would do well  to listen to me very carefully. It will be in the best interest for both of us .  _ I _ am in total control.  _ I  _ am who you will obey.  _ I  _ am who you will answer to, who you will respect, and who you will treat with the utmost regard. If you so much as breathe improperly when in my presence, I will personally make you wish you had perished with your vermin partner back in the searing oblivion of the desert.”

Judy was rolled on her back.

“Is that understood?” he asked.

Judy swallowed, ignoring the lump in her throat.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked in return.

“Hmph,” the mammal chuckled. “As much as I would like you to know, I would hate to spoil the fun so soon.”

The mammal stood up.

“Trevor!” he called out.

“Yes, b—sir?” Trevor answered.

“Be a dear and show our friend her new living quarters, please.”

“Yes, sir.”

The mammal started walking away as Trevor approached.

“How is Officer Wilde doing?” the mammal asked quietly.

“Uh . . . he’s in pretty bad shape to be honest, sir. But I think he’ll be fine so long as me and you keep a good eye on him.”

“You and I, Trevor - ‘Me’ cannot keep a good eye on anything. .”

The goat picked Judy up and hoisted her over his shoulder. This was much to Judy’s discomfort; the wind was still knocked out of her. She was having difficulty breathing.

“Trevor, would you mind doing me one more favor?” the mammal asked.

“Sure . . . sir.”

“Read a book some time. It is  _ very _ painful for me to hear you speak.”

“I, uh . . . alright, sir. I’ll try.”

“Thank you.”

The mammal walked away, and Trevor carried Judy off to her destination.

* * *

 

Water splashed against Nick’s face, and almost as soon as he woke up, his tongue shot out of his mouth to try and collect any moisture it could touch.

He tried opening his eyes, but he couldn’t see anything.

_ Oh, I get it,  _ he thought, chuckling out loud.  _ I’m dead. This is limbo or something. _

“Drink up, fox,” an unfamiliar voice said.

Nick’s mouth was pried open, and water flowed onto his tongue like liquid gold. He gasped in satisfaction, just realizing how desperately he had needed water.

_ If limbo stays like this, I could certainly get used to— _

Nick’s entire body was lifted off the ground before he could finish his thought. He scrambled in the air, trying to get back on a solid surface, but noticed his paws and feet were tied, leaving him helpless. Somebody was carrying him.

The fox felt the vibrations as the mammal—or angel for all he knew—started walking. He heard a rhythmic clanking on the floor, like the sound of hooves.

_ Woah, maybe it’s a hippogriff!  _ he thought.  _ I’ve always wanted to see one in real life ever since I read Harry Otter . . . Why am I sarcastic even in my own head? _

Suddenly, Nick was tossed on the floor like a child throwing their toy in a tantrum. He landed with a grunt, but was pleasantly surprised with how little pain he felt.

_ The perks of being in limbo, I suppose. _

“Hey! You be careful with him!” somebody said. It sounded like Judy.

_ Oh, cool! Judy’s here, too. This isn’t so bad! _

“I ain’t paid to be careful,” the other mammal said. Nick heard a door shut and lock, followed by small footsteps walking in that direction.

“Now you listen here, buddy,” Judy said threateningly. “He’s been through more than enough already, and the  _ last  _ thing he needs is for you to be throwing him around like a cheap ragdoll. I want you to apologize right now.”

There was silence for a moment.

The other mammal cleared his throat. “Uh . . . sorry, Mr. Wilde.”

“Don’t mention it, Mr. Hippogriff,” Nick replied. His voice was unpleasantly scratchy and weak, with all the suave taken out of it. Nick didn’t like that one bit.

“You clearly weren’t bright enough to give a reasonable amount of water, so how about you go and fetch some more bottles, hm?” Judy said. “And why don’t you add some food while you’re at it, sweetheart. I’m starving.”

“Yeah,” the other mammal said submissively. “Sure.” 

The sound of hooves faded away.

“Mr. Hippogriff?” Judy asked.

Nick smiled. “Yeah. Are we not in limbo?”

“What?”

“Nevermind, I think I might have a concussion . . . Did I actually lose my sight or am I blindfolded?”

“Oh! Sorry, hold on.”

Nick felt Judy fiddling with something on the back of his head.

“It’s pretty bright in here,” she said, “so you might wanna cover your eyes.”

She took the blindfold away and Nick yelped. His eyes were met with overwhelming white, and he immediately had to shut them again. Even then, much of the light still made it through.

He slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the brightness even slower. His retinas started to ache, but he eventually made out the picture of Judy’s legs in front of him.

“Looks like I’ve finally made it to heaven,” Nick muttered. “Thank the Lord!”

“I told you to cover your eyes,” Judy said.

“Last time I checked, my paws were tied behind my back.”

“. . . oh, shoot.”

“‘Shoot’ indeed, Carrots.”

“Lemme untie these ropes for ya.”

In a few moments Nick’s limbs were freed. He stood up and looked around.

The two of them were standing on a dirty, white-tiled floor. The walls were a light gray—concrete—and seemed like they might be wet. There was a large, steel door to Nick’s right with a little slot at the bottom to get things into the room without opening it. On the door was a keyhole and a lever, but Nick safely assumed it couldn’t be opened from the inside. There was a toilet in one corner, a small bed in another, and above them was a single hanging light. 

In the middle of everything was Judy. Dirty, tattered, and half-crippled, but still Judy. 

Nick held out his arms and the rabbit ran into his embrace, sobbing.

“Yet another great example of how emotional you little bunnies are,” Nick joked, gently rubbing the back of her head.

“Shut up, I thought you were gonna die,” she said.

“Bah, and leave you all alone in the desert? This old fox won’t be kicking the bucket without a good fight. Someone has to be the competent member of this partnership.”

“You were so dehydrated you were hallucinating!” 

“I was just being dramatic.”

“You were unconscious for, like, an entire  _ day. _ ”

“It’s called meditation, Carrots. You clearly need to try it some time.”

Judy let go of the fox and smiled up at him, tears streaming down her face.

“It’s good to have you back, Nick,” she said.

“Same to you, Officer Hopps,” Nick replied.

Judy started to laugh. “You sound like you’re dying, Slick.”

“We’re  _ all  _ dying, technically.”

“Oof. Morbid.”

A rattling noise turned both of their heads to the door as the little slot lifted up. Five bottles of water and a Bugburga bag were shoved inside, then the slot closed again.

“Thank you!” Judy called out, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She turned to Nick. “The service here is wonderful, as you can tell.”

Nick bent over and picked up a bottle. “Five stars for sure.” He cracked the bottle open. “Where are we, anyway?”

Judy sighed. “No idea.” She watched Nick down the entire bottle in a few quick seconds. “Slow down. I’d prefer you not to throw up all over our new apartment.”

Nick crushed the plastic bottle in his paw and  _ ahhed  _ in delight. “I’m not paying rent for this dump. Let’s trash the place!”

“No.”

Nick slouched, mocking disappointment. “But  _ Carroooooooooots _ !”

“No!”

He straightened up again. “Ugh, fine. You’re so boring.”

Judy started looking through the Bugburga bag and groaned.

“What’s wrong?” Nick asked.

“I  _ don’t  _ eat insects.” She pulled a single cicada burger out of the bag and eyed it with disgust. 

“Is that the only thing in the bag?”

“Yep.”

“Well I think you’re gonna have to change your diet a little then. I’d offer you the bun, but you definitely need the protein.”

Judy sighed wearily. “Alright.”

She split the burger in half and handed one of the portions over to Nick, who was busy opening another bottle of water. She hesitantly brought the burger to her nose and sniffed, sticking out her tongue and gagging.

“Trust me, it tastes a lot better than it looks,” Nick said, already halfway done with his meal. “Geez, I’ve missed these things.” He licked his lips and smiled.

Judy looked back at the burger and slowly took a small nibble, rolling the small bite in her mouth as she chewed. Her ears perked up.

“Hey, this actually isn’t so bad,” she said.

“Right?”

“I mean, I’d rather have a carrot burger—”

“Of course you would.”

“But I can get behind this. It’s definitely better than those desert fruits.” She took another bite. “I wish we had more though. I’m really hungry.”

“Hm, I wonder why.” Nick was sucking the excess burger juices off his fingers, his second bottle of water empty and tossed aside. He grabbed his third and sat against the wall. “Do you have any idea why we’re here, at least?” he asked.

Judy swallowed another mouthful of her burger and said: “I really don’t know, Nick. You were so dehydrated you had no idea what was going on, then suddenly this goat drove up out of nowhere. He tied us up and took us here.”

Nick thought for a second. “You don’t think it’s the same guy we chased  _ into  _ the desert, do you?”

“I doubt it. Whoever was in the van tried to kill us, remember? The goat easily could’ve finished the job when he found us. He did have a gun after all . . . wait.”

“Hm?”

“The odds of two different mammals somehow getting a gun into Zootopia are definitely lower than the odds of this being the same criminal.”

“So you’re thinking we’re dealing with the same guy?”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “Maybe.”

“They could’ve just changed their plan after we got away. Might’ve just said, ‘Hey! Instead of killing them we should kidnap them instead! That’ll sure show the fuzz who’s boss.’”

Judy laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s exactly how the conversation would have went down.”

“Takes a criminal to know a criminal.”

“Glad you’re finally being up front about it.”

Judy crumpled up the empty bag and dropped it where Nick’s water bottles were. She sat down against the wall diagonal to Nick, hugged her legs, and let her ears droop back down.

Nick noticed that Judy was wearing a new pair of pants, these ones not ripped and bloodstained.

“Did they change your bandages for you, Carrots?” he asked.

“Yeah. They gave me some antiseptic, too.”

“Is it feeling better?”

“I think I’ll be okay.”

“That’s good.” Nick twiddled his thumbs. “They clearly want to keep us alive.”

Judy looked at the fox. “Why, though?” she asked.

“Beats me, Carrots. Beats me.”

Judy started to squirm a little bit. She looked uncomfortable.

“You alright there?” Nick asked.

“I just wish I knew what time it was,” she replied. “At least when we were outside we could see when it was day or night. In here there’s just a bright light on all the time.”

“Do you know how long I was out?”

Judy shrugged. “I don’t know. Could’ve been an hour. Or maybe ten. It’s really hard to tell in here. It felt like forever.”

Nick smiled. “Well at least I’m here to help you pass the time, right?”

Judy smiled back. “You’re such a dumb fox, you know that?”

“Right back at ya, dumb bunny.”

They sat in silence.

Judy frowned. “Do you remember what you were hallucinating? Back in the desert?” she asked.

Nick shrugged. “Not a clue. The last thing I remember was . . . uhh . . .” He scratched his head. “Let me get back to you on that one.”

“Okay . . .”

Judy thought back to how Nick was acting in the desert and cringed.  _ “You can’t be dead!”  _ he was yelling. It was horrifying.

“If we make it out of this,” the fox said, breaking Judy from her thoughts, “I’m gonna buy a jacuzzi. And I’m just gonna sit in it.” He closed his eyes and grinned. “I know I won’t be able to get it in the apartment but . . . I’ll put it somewhere. It’s gonna be nice and hot . . . and bubbly.” He sighed. “Aw, it’s gonna be so great.” He looked at Judy. “And maybe I’ll let you join if you beg me enough, maybe slip me some cash.”

Judy scoffed. “In what world do you think I’m gonna pay to sit in a hot tub with you?”

“Hmm . . . this one. Yeah, this one.”

“You’re delusional.”

“Tell me, Fluff, do your bikinis have carrots on them too?”

Judy grabbed a water bottle and chucked it at Nick’s chest, striking him with a  _ plop. _

“Hey!” he yelled. “That one was full! Also, not fair. I’m still recovering from dehydration so my reflexes are slow.”

“Let’s be real. It would be no different even if you had your ten morning cups of coffee.”

“My body is a complicated machine and I must treat it as such, Carrots.”

“You’re about as complicated as a Nintendoe Entertainment System.”

Nick cocked his head. “Are you just making a reference or do you actually play Nintendoe?”

Judy fancily placed a paw to her chest. “I’ll have you know that I’m the Nintendoe  _ queen. _ ”

“Well this is a surprise.”

“Having two-hundred seventy-five siblings, my parents had to keep us occupied. So they bought two of each console that came out. Still, that wasn’t enough to entertain so many of us at once. Turn-taking always somehow got hectic, so we had a rule. Whoever wins each game gets to stay on the console. I was the best in the house, probably in all of Bunnyburrow, so I always got the most play time,” she said smirking.

“Impressive. What’s the best Nintendoe era?”

“64. Duh.”

“Excellent choice. Star Fox 64 is a personal favorite of mine. The bosses were so great.”

Judy’s ears drooped. “Well, as much as I hate to admit it, my parents never bought us Star Fox. They  _ said  _ it was because it was ‘too violent’ but I’m sure there some ulterior reasons.”

“Wait, so you’ve  _ never  _ played Star Fox 64? Fox flying around with his pals and shooting bad guys in space?”

“No.”

“Carrots, you  _ need  _ to play it when we get home. Fox McCloud was my idol when I was a kid.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! I mean, it  _ sounds  _ kind of stupid now that I’m saying it out loud, but having a fox be the main character in a video game was a big deal back then. It would be a big deal even now. Even though it’s weird that there were talking birds and frogs on his team, he actually worked alongside a rabbit!”

“A fox and a rabbit on the same team in a video game? Over twenty years ago?”

“Yeah, it was definitely ahead of its time. Fox was pretty much the only . . . well . . .  _ fox  _ that I had to look up to as a kid. It was nice to see someone like me saving the day instead of pickpocketing on the streets or committing insurance fraud.”

Judy scratched her neck. “There were no other positive role models in your life?”

“Well, there was my mom. She, uh . . .” He cleared his throat. “She’s a great mammal. Always looking out for others.”

Judy started chuckling. “Remember when we went out to lunch with her and she showed us pictures of you as a cub?”

“Oh c’mon,  _ please  _ don’t remind me.”

“You were so cute though! I just wanted to pinch your little cheeks!”

“I really need to dig up some more dirt on you so I can shut you up when you start running your mouth.”

“You’ll find nothing on me, Wilde.”

“Carrots, you know I have connections. I can find out who you had a crush on in fourth grade if I really wanted to.”

“I’d love to see you try.”

They smiled at each other and stayed silent for a bit.

“What about your dad?” Judy asked.

Nick raised an eyebrow. “What about him?”

“Did you look up to him?”

“Umm . . . no, not really.”

Judy looked at the fox, waiting for him to continue. He took the hint.

“He was a lot like me before I became a cop. I assume he still is. The last time I heard from him was when I graduated from the academy.”

“He was at your graduation?”

“No, he called me. I haven’t been able to reach him since because he has to change his number every so often. Comes with his line of work.”

“I see.” She blinked a few times. “What did he say?”

Nick looked down and quietly said: “He told me he’s proud.”

Judy nodded. “I hope I get to meet him some day.”

“Yeah . . . me too.”

As if on cue, the light bulb in the center of the room turned off, washing the two of them in pitch darkness.

“Well at least they’re kind enough to let us know when it’s bedtime,” Judy said. 

Nick stood up. “I can’t say I’m not excited to actually sleep on a mattress again. Need help finding your way there, Carrots?”

“No thanks. I got it.”

Nick heard the bunny stand up, immediately followed by the crunching of a plastic bottle and a small yelp.

“On second thought,” Judy said, “give me a paw.”

Nick smirked, even though he knew Judy couldn’t see it. He grabbed Judy’s paw.

“If you could trade your super-hearing for my night vision, would you do it?” Nick asked, leading her to the bed.

“Honestly, yes. I’m tired of vividly hearing what our neighbors are up to at 3AM.”

“The Grizzlos? That elderly couple?”

“Yep.” Judy lay down on the bed and curled up, facing the wall. Nick sat on the edge of the mattress facing the other way.

“That’s absolutely disgusting.”

“You’re telling me.”

“Good for them, though. They’re not letting old age get in the way of their love life.”

“Ugh, now I’m thinking about it.”

“I wonder if they take their dentures out before they get between the sheets.”

“Sweet cheese and crackers, Nick, please stop.”

“Alright, alright.”

Nick stretched and lay down beside the rabbit, placing his paws on his chest. The bed was small, so the two were naturally quite close to one another. Nick felt his heartbeat quicken as Judy brushed against his side. 

_ Well, this isn’t how I expected it to happen, but I’m finally in bed with her,  _ Nick thought.  _ Oh my God, I’m terrible. _

The fox’s eyes widened when a furry arm wrapped around him and he was squeezed closer to his partner.

Judy took a deep, tired breath. “You smell atrocious,” she said.

Nick laughed awkwardly. “You don’t exactly remind me of roses yourself, Carrots.”

He relaxed a bit when this got a small chortle out of her.

“Goodnight, Nick.”

“Night.”

Nick noticed Judy’s breathing sink into a rhythm as she started to fall asleep. It was then that he finally gave in and returned her embrace. 

Judy was still awake enough to notice this. And she smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I was late. I legitimately forgot that this fic existed. Next chapter will hopefully be out before the end of April. Thanks for reading!


	6. The Bones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t want to waste too much of anyone’s time before the chapter starts. I was having wrist issues, which made typing very difficult. I also rewrote this a lot. To add to the wait, I decided not to rush my editors this time. Maybe this all ended up making the chapter better? You decide. Enjoy.

Even with the fur on Judy’s ears, the steel door was still uncomfortably cold to the touch. She plugged her other ear to try and hear what was on the other side as best as she could.

“Anything?” Nick asked her.

“Shh,” she replied. She closed her eyes and focused. Though muffled, she began to pick out sounds from beyond the door.

Fans. Probably air conditioning.

Somebody coughed.

Another cough.

“Boss, it’s real musty in here. Can we open a window or something?”

Judy opened her eyes and further pressed her ear against the door.

There was a clattering noise, like a chair toppling over.

“Sir! I meant sir! Sorry, sir!”

“Your miniscule brain never fails to disappoint me, Trevor,” the mammal said. His voice was unmistakable, even from so far away.

“Carrots, what’s going–” Nick said.

“Nick, will you please shut up?” Judy whispered angrily.

“Sir,” Trevor said, “do you at least know how long this gig’s gonna last? I have a girlfriend back home, and you ain’t even letting me use my real phone. I didn’t know they even still made these flip ones.”

“Smart phones can be traced, Trevor. If someone were to tap into one of our conversations, it would be an unfortunate mistake of ours indeed. These burner phones make us harder to track down.”

“You didn’t answer my question . . . sir.”

There was silence for a couple seconds.

“If there is no turn of events within the next forty-eight hours, I give you permission to ask me that question again.”

“So after that I’ll be able to–”

“However, knowing myself, I will most likely get irritated if you were to ask me the same thing twice with your moronic voice. Yes, I think you can rely on your job being complete within forty-eight hours.”

“Okay . . .”

A few moments passed. Trevor erupted into another coughing fit.

“Sir,” he said, his voice getting raspy. “What exactly are we doing?”

“. . . I think that our guests should be getting hungry right about now. Would you be so kind as to bring them their meal?”

“Umm . . . alright, sir.”

The sound of Trevor’s hooves clacked into Judy’s eardrums, getting closer to their room. She sprang away from the door.

A lock unhinged and the slot at the bottom of the door creaked open. Another bag was thrown in, followed by some more bottles of water.

“Snack time,” Trevor called into the room.

“Is it already?” Nick asked. “I thought we had arts and crafts first. Then we were gonna learn about all the planets in our solar system.”

“This isn’t a school,” Trevor said.

“I– . . . If you could see me right now, I would be giving you a visual representation of my joke going over your head.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Trevor clacked away.

Judy approached the greasy, brown paper bag that was thrown into their cell, her nose twitching as she picked up the scent of what was inside. She picked it up and immediately dropped it, throwing her paws in exasperation.

“Nope. I could deal with the bugs, but I’m not doing this,” she said. She covered her mouth, looking like she was about to gag. “What’s wrong with those mammals? I’m not even sure if I can digest that.”

“What is it?” Nick asked, cautiously approaching the bag.

He hesitantly peeked inside the bag, and his face immediately lit up. “Hell yeah! I love chicken.” He turned to the disgusted Judy and his smile dropped. “Oh, right. Yeah, fuck those guys.”

Nick dug through the bag. “Five drumsticks . . . Hey, there are some fries at the bottom here. Want ‘em?”

Judy sighed. “Pass.” Her ears drooped and she plopped down on the floor.

The fox frowned. Seeing what was normally a bundle of joy collapse into a sad piece of fluff had to be the most depressing thing in the world, in Nick’s eyes at least.

_Okay, Nick,_ he thought, _whatever you do, don’t crack a stupid joke._

“The fries looked soggy anyway,” Nick said.

_You moron._

“Forty-eight hours, they said,” Judy muttered.

Nick pursed his lips and set the bag down. “Did you hear them say that through the door?”

She nodded, looking down.

“Did they say what happens _after_ forty-eight hours?”

“That mammal wouldn’t say. I think it’s just the goat and this other guy, but there’s no way to tell for sure.” She wiped her nose. “I think they’re gonna kill us. Broadcast it on the internet or something. This is like a sick pleasure trip.”

Nick’s ears flattened against the back of his head. “Carrots, c’mon. Don’t talk like that.”

“You didn’t hear that mammal, Nick. He’s an absolute lunatic. What other motive could they possibly have?”

“Ransom, maybe? God, I don’t know.”

“No, they would’ve already taken a video of us to send to the ZPD so they know we’re alive. Shots of us unconscious wouldn’t work.”

“What if they have a camera in this room?”

“Nick, you and I both know that if they had a security camera in this room, you would’ve noticed it by now.”

“Yeah . . . yeah, you’re right.”

Nick scratched his neck and sat down, crossing his legs. He gazed upon the defeated bunny, ears flaccid, one leg mangled and bandaged, head down. It tore him apart.

He reached out a paw, hesitated, then made contact, caressing her cheek. Her fur was soft despite not being washed for so long, and she was warm, too. It was nice.

Judy locked eyes with the fox and smiled.

“You’re allowed to eat the chicken, ya know. One of us starving is better than both.”

Nick chuckled. “I use every ounce of my willpower to not say something dumb so I could comfort you, and you follow up with _that_?”

“For the record, your dumb comments can be comforting.”

“Really?”

“. . . Sometimes.” She took Nick’s paw and held it in her own. “I can’t say I didn’t appreciate the gesture, though.”

“Always happy to help.” Nick glanced over at the bag of drumsticks and back at Judy. “Can I actually eat the chicken though?”

“Yes, Nick.”

“Oh my God, thank you _so_ much.”

He snatched a chicken leg out of the bag and ate it to the bone in a matter of seconds. He then proceeded to lick the oil off his fingers.

“Heh,” Judy laughed. “Forty-eight hours . . . déjà vu.”

“Hmm?”

The bunny started playing with the bandages on her leg. A couple threads had gotten loose and were hanging off the side, leaving fringe for Judy to pick off.

“That’s how much time I got to solve the Nighthowler case . . . well, _we_.”

“Oh yeah,” Nick said, reminiscing on their first adventure together. “That was pretty fun.”

“We almost died like ten times.”

“It comes with the job.”

“You weren’t part of the ZPD back then.”

Nick smiled around a mouthful of chicken. “I knew deep down in my heart that a dumb bunny would come along and lead me down the right path.”

“That’s an oddly specific gut feeling.”

The fox rolled his eyes. “I’m trying to cheer you up! Give me a break.”

“Sorry.”

Nick pulled out the last drumstick and nibbled it slowly. “I’m sure they have officers looking for us right now,” he said.

Judy shrugged. “Maybe.”

Nick took another bite. “They’re good cops. All of them. They’d take the whole city apart and put it back together again to find us.”

“Knowing Bogo, their search party was probably delayed. Or they have a meter maid looking for us.”

The fox threw the half-eaten drumstick on the floor and stood up. “Alright, that’s it! Where’s the Judy that _always_ looks on the bright side, that can think her way out of any situation?” He bent down to eye level with the rabbit. “Look at me, Hopps.”

She kept looking down.

“I said look at me.” He brought his paw under her chin and raised it upwards so they were looking straight at each other. Her eyes were wide, not with fear but with confusion.

Nick said: “I’m not gonna let anything else happen to you, you hear? You’re the most important mammal in the world to me, and if you . . . passed away, I don’t think I’d be able to go on by myself. I’m in love with you, Judy.”

Her ears shot to the top of her head. “You called me Judy,” she said in surprise.

“I– . . . erm . . .” Nick sighed. “Yes, yes I did.”

“You never call me Judy.”

“I have one time. You just didn’t hear me. You were underwater.”

“Oh . . .” Judy looked away, thinking.

Nick offered the bunny a paw. “So what do you say. Are you in this with me?”

Judy looked at the offered paw and smirked. “Let’s do it.”

The fox hoisted his partner up to her feet. Her newly established sense of motivation had her check her surroundings, as if she were seeing the room for the first time. She spotted the unfinished drumstick on the floor, and her ears perked up.

“Say, Nick,” she said, a smile creeping onto her face. “How sharp are your teeth, exactly?”

* * *

 

Wolfard stepped out of his squad car, swallowed by the darkness of the Nocturnal District, the district underneath the city. His tail flexed upwards as he stretched out his arms and yawned. It was only midday, but the setting was starting to convince him it was time for a nap.

Despite the dreary atmosphere, the neighborhood that the license plate brought him to was surprisingly nice. White picket fences, two story houses, cul-de-sacs, nothing in particular seemed run-down or poor.

Wolfard looked at one such house, scanning his paperwork to confirm the addresses matched the one he was looking for. He huffed on his badge, shined it, realized that in such low lighting the shine didn’t matter, then made his way to the front door. He glanced down at the grass on either side of the concrete path to the door, admiring the Nocturnal District’s attention to appearance. The plants out here would never be able to get adequate sunlight, so nearly all of the greenery in the neighborhood was plastic. It was quite convincing to say the least.

He pressed the doorbell, focusing on his hearing to make sure it rang throughout the house. The timberwolf cleared his throat.

“Miss . . .” he looked at the document in his paw, “Hyenman? This is the ZPD. If you have the time, I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

He waited a few seconds, shifting his weight between his heels and his toes in impatience.

Wolfard pressed the doorbell again. “Ms. Hyenman, it will only take a few moments of your time.”

He peeked through the window beside the door, then looked at his watch.

1:24 p.m.

_Shit,_ he thought. _She’s definitely sleeping._

He dragged a paw down his face and groaned, turning back to his squad car.

_Earliest I can come back is 6 p.m. maybe . . . almost five hours from now._

He folded the document and slipped it in his pocket, sighing.

“Sorry Ms. Hyenman,” he said quietly, “but you’re gonna have to get your beauty sleep a little later.”

He started pounding on the front door, the sound of knuckles attacking wood echoing throughout the neighborhood.

“Open up, Ms. Hyenman!” he yelled.

A neighbor opened up their window, sticking their head out and screaming: “Hey, asshole! It’s 1 in the goddamn afternoon! We’re trying to sleep!”

Wolfard turned his head in the direction of his confronter. “Yeah, and I’m trying to do my job. Go back to bed, sir.”

“Then how about you come back at a decent hour instead of being a dickhead!”

“Sir, I’m sorry to tell you that I’m a dickhead 24/7.”

The door swung open, revealing a short hyena in a tank top and short shorts. Dark hair with blonde highlights covered her eyes.

“What the hell are you doing, dude?” she asked. “Did someone die?”

“Are you Macy Hyenman?”

“Yeah, now can you answer my question?”

“No, ma’am, nobody died.”

She let out a sigh of relief and leaned on the doorframe, flipping her hair out of her sight. Despite there being no sun, her blue eyes were very visible.

“Good,” she said. “I don’t have the time for a funeral. Finals are coming up.”

“Um, Ma’am, my–” Wolfard said.

“Just call me Macy, dude.”

“. . . Macy, I’m Officer Wolfard of the ZPD. Do you happen to own a black van with the plate number . . .” he pulled out his document again, “RHB6623?”

She crossed her arms. “I’ve got a black van, but I don’t have the plate memorized. What’s it to ya?”

“We have reason to believe that a crime has been committed with your vehicle. Would you mind showing me the van?”

“Uuuggggggggggggghhhhh.” She lowered her head. “Only if I get to go back to bed afterwards.”

“I can’t guarantee that, Macy.”

“ _Uuuggggggggggggghhhhh_ okay fine. Follow me.”

She brushed past Wolfard and turned left into the driveway.

“Hey, Macy!” the neighbor called out. “How ‘bout you stop ordering gigolos in the middle of the day! Some of us have real jobs to do at night!”

Macy brought her paws beside her mouth to amplify her tone. “How ‘bout you take your ‘real job’ and shove it up your ass, Frank!”

Macy and Wolfard turned the corner around her house.

“Sorry about him,” she whispered to the timberwolf. “He’s been kinda salty ever since his wife left him.”  
“Uh, yeah. Okay.”

They stopped in front of a triple garage with another floor on top of it. It was almost like a second house. Despite the darkness, Wolfard night vision was keen enough to be able to make out the hyena’s backyard. It was huge, boasting a pool, jacuzzi, and a sand volleyball court.

Macy punched a code into the keypad for the leftmost garage door, causing a loud buzz as it started to open. Behind the door was a red sports car.

“Aw shit, sorry. I think it’s the middle one, actually.”

“Macy, may I ask what you do for a living?” Wolfard asked, dumbfounded by the girl’s apparent wealth.

“I’m a streamer.”

“A what?”  
“I play video games and people watch.”

“. . . Huh.”

She hit the keypad again to close the garage for her sports car then did the same to open the middle door. The van in this garage blended in well with the pitch black of its surroundings, but Wolfard could see the license plate. It was the same as on his paper, but Chief Bogo mentioned one of the taillights was busted. Both of the taillights on this van seemed to be in order.

“Macy, did you have to take this van to the mechanic recently?” he asked, preparing himself for a half-assed lie.

“Yeah, I let my classmate borrow it for awhile and he screwed up the left taillight. I got him to pay me for it, though. Plus a bit extra.”

Wolfard raised an eyebrow.

“Alright, that was easier than I expected.” Wolfard pulled out his pawcuffs. “Macy, I’m going to have to bring you into official custody for questioning so we can sort this all out.”

He turned the hyena around and cuffed her paws. She gave surprisingly little resistance.

“Boo,” Macy muttered mockingly. “Will there be snacks?”

“. . . I’ll see what I can do.”

“Hell yeah. Snacks.”

Wolfard led the interesting mammal to his squad car.

* * *

 

Nick pulled the chicken bone out of his mouth and poked the tip, testing its sharpness.

“That’s about as good as it’s gonna get , Carrots,” he said.

Judy looked at the bone that Nick had whittled down into a pick with his teeth. There was still some skin on the thicker end, but the tip was white and sharp.

“Good. Now can you pick the lock?” she asked.

“Pfft. ‘Can you pick the lock?’ Do you know who you’re talking to?”

“Well I’m sure it’s been a while since you’ve gotten any practice, right?”

Nick scratched his neck. “Uhhhhh . . .”

“Nick!”

“Sorry, Fluff.”

“I’m not even gonna ask. Just see if you can unlock the door, but _don’t_ open it.”

“Got it.”

The fox inserted his makeshift lock pick into the door and stuck his tongue out of the side of his mouth in concentration. Despite projecting confidence, Nick knew this was going to be difficult – a soggy chicken bone was a poor substitute for a professional kit.

“Okay,” Judy said. “We need to wait for a good time to escape, so I’ll be sitting by the door to try and hear whether or not they’re nearby.”

“So next time the coast is clear we make a break for it?”

“Not yet. As unprofessional as it may be for a police officer to use a chicken bone shank, it’s the only weapon I can think of for us to defend ourselves, so you’re going to have to make at least one more.”

“Ugh, this one took like two hours. And bone tastes awful,” Nick complained.

“Just do it, Mr. Carnivore. Then we’re busting out of here. I think that’s as much of a plan as we can make at the moment.”

“Meh bleh bleh meh, Mr. Carnivore,” Nick mimicked, rolling his eyes. He fished another chicken bone out of his mouth and starting scraping it with his teeth. His eyes clenched shut as he strained his jaw against the bone.

Judy sat and watched her partner carve a shank out of his meal. In any other circumstance, the sight would be almost comedic, but other things took over Judy’s mind.

_He said he’s in love with you._

Judy’s eyes widened. He said that. Nick said that.

To her.

_Did he mean that for real? Like, was he just saying that to cheer me up, or does he actually love me? He’s said ‘You know you love me’ before, but this time he said ‘I’m in love with you’. Is this different? If he loves me, then does he_ love _love me? Or is this just a friend sorta love? Hold on, what was his body language when he said that? Neutral face, decent posture . . . that could mean anything! He did call me Judy, though. Maybe that means something? He never calls me Judy. Has he felt this way for a while? What does this mean for–_

“Earth to Carrots,” Nick said, waving his arms.

Judy shook her head, breaking herself out of her stupor. “Huh?” she said.

“Uh, you’ve been staring at me like a lovesick puppy for like ten minutes. Are you really _that_ invested in me making a good chicken shank, or are you some sorta predophile?”

Judy blushed. “Oh, uh, I was just . . . uhh . . . w–wondering if maybe you’ve done this before? You seem like you know what you’re doing.”

Nick looked confusedly at the chicken bone he was holding then back to the rabbit.

“Hate to break it to you, Carrots,” he said, “but I’ve never crafted a weapon out of chicken bone before.”

“Right, sorry.”

Judy brushed her ears down and flopped on the bed, outstretching her arms and sighing. Nick raised an eyebrow at her behavior before continuing his work.

_Okay, be cool, Judy,_ the bunny thought, heartbeat quickening. _Keep in mind that you’re currently being held hostage by a psychopath and you may or may not have less than two days to live. You can worry about whether or not a fox has a crush on you later._

Judy pursed her lips.

_Can a bunny even be with a fox? Is that legal? No, wait, it’s legal. There was that Supreme Court case with the elephant and the mouse seven years ago. I wonder_ – _. . . crap, I’m trailing off again._

Judy shifted her eyes to the fox, who was now pacing around the room, all the while humming a Frank Zebra song. One paw was keeping the chicken bone in place while the other was waving around to the rhythm.

_Come to think of it, Nick’s the only mammal that has really taken any of my attention away from my job. Even my_ parents _aren’t such a big a part of my life. I definitely care about him, but am I in love with him?_

The bunny pressed her paws against her face and breathed deeply.

_This is like one of those god-awful fanfictions I used to read in high school._

“ _Yeowch!_ ” Nick cried, dropping the drumstick to the floor, part of the tip cracking as it made impact.

Judy sprang to her feet. “What? What’s wrong?” She rushed over to the fox.

Nick groaned and stuck out his tongue. “I athidentally gabe mythelth a tongue pierthing.”

Judy squinted at the spec of blood forming on his tongue. “Got too into the song?” she asked.

Nick nodded shamefully.

“You’re such a dork.”

The fox threw out his paws in exasperation. “I have to start over _and_ I stabbed my tongue! Feel bad for me!”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“You’re the worst. You’re getting the shorter shank.”

Nick grabbed another chicken bone and started sharpening again. Judy sat back on the bed.

_Yeah,_ she thought. _I think I love him._


	7. The Standoff

Wolfard laid out three bags on the stainless steel table.

“Alright,” he said, looking up at the suspect. “Cheetos, Teddy Grahams, or Goldfish?”

The hyena stuck out her lower lip and blew her bangs out of her eyes. “Can I have all three?” she asked. She lifted herself off her seat and leaned in to look at the snacks, only to be stopped by the pawcuffs that connected her to the table.

“Uhh . . .” Wolfard scratched his head and pressed the button on his microphone. “Ben, is she allowed to have all the snacks?” he asked.

The microphone crackled. “I guess, but, like, I kinda wanted the Teddy–”

“Cool. Thanks, buddy.” He looked back at Macy and nudged the snacks within her reach. “Go for it.”

She deviously looked down at the food and licked her lips. “Sweet.”

The timberwolf raised a finger. “ _ But _ , you have to keep the pawcuffs on, plus you have to answer my questions.”

“I’m no stranger to talking with food in my mouth, dude. We’re gucci.”

Macy tore open the Cheetos and started shoveling them in her mouth. Wolfard’s ears twitched at the sound of the loud crunching.

“Ok. First order of business: over what time frame did your classmate borrow your van?”

“I gave it to him Monday, last week. He gave it back three days ago,” she replied immediately, food still in her mouth.

Wolfard was both surprised and disgusted by the hyena’s ability to talk so coherently with her mouth full.

“And he returned your van to you with the broken taillight?”

“Yup. I knew he was gonna wreck it one way or another.”

Wolfard raised an eyebrow. “Then why’d you lend it to him in the first place?”

Macy laughed and put an elbow on the table, her hair falling over her eyes again.

“Okay,” she said. “So here’s the funny thing. This guy has probably the most nonexistent balls in universe. He’s also a total klutz. So one day after class he comes up to me asking, ‘Hey, can I borrow your van?’ and I come up with this master plan on the spot.” Her grin grew even wider. “I knew he was gonna mess up my van, but I also knew that he would give me however much money I wanted to fix it. Fixing a broken taillight is a hundred bucks, but I convinced him to give me three-hundred.”

She laughed again and attempted to smack her knee, only to be jerked to a stop by the pawcuffs. “I’m a genius, right? I bought a new keyboard with the cash.”

Wolfard cocked his head. “Do you know the name of this guy?”

“Trevor Hankemeyer. He’s a goat.”

The wolf rubbed his chin, thinking. He leaned in to his microphone. “Background check on a ‘Trevor Hankemeyer’. Species: Goat.”

“On it,” Clawhauser replied.

Wolfard stood up straight and cracked his back. “Alright, Macy,” he said. “I’m gonna level with you.”

“Go on ahead,” she replied, opening the bag of Goldfish, not bothering to make eye contact.

“You’re tied up with some very major charges right now. Two of our officers were last seen chasing  _ your  _ vehicle through Sahara Square. Your van fled into the desert, the officers in pursuit. They’ve since been missing for nearly four days.”

“Why were they chasing my van?”

“Whoever was in the van was shouting threats at civilians. When our officers confronted him, he sped off. According to eyewitness reports, the shouting mammal is assumed to be male, but we never know if there was another mammal in the passenger seat.”

Wolfard grabbed a nearby chair and sat down at the table, clasping his paws.

“So, Macy, I’m finding it awfully hard to believe that you lent your van to your pal Trevor only for him to commit a crime and return the thing all nice and neat. Understand my confusion here?”

Macy leaned her head back and sprinkled the last of the Goldfish crumbs into her mouth. She crumpled up the bag, tossing it on the ground behind her. Wolfard sighed.

“You said four days ago, right?” she asked. 

“Nearly,” he corrected.

“Odds are I got an alibi, depending on the time of the chase. I pulled an all-dayer on my stream. The new  _ Mach the Hedgehog  _ came out and it was apparently the shittiest game ever made, so my fans were begging me to play it.”

“So I can find video of this online?”

“Yeah, it says the date and time it was streamed. I even interacted with the chat, so that’s proof it wasn’t pre-recorded or anything.”

“The ‘chat’?”

Macy brushed the bangs off her face so Wolfard could tell she was rolling her eyes.

“The mammals watching the stream were typing things to me, and I was responding to the things they typed.”

The timberwolf uncapped his pen and wrote a note to himself to confirm the hyena’s alibi. It seemed reasonable enough, but you can never be so sure.

The microphone on the table crackled, Clawhauser’s voice coming through.

“I got a report on Trevor Hankemeyer,” Clawhauser said.

“Read it for me, will ya?” Wolfard replied.

Macy busied herself with  opening her “dessert” of Teddy Grahams.

“Born March 2, 1996. Age 22. Resides at 642 Armadillo Lane in Savannah Central. Held in custody for 36 hours after a shoplifting charge, released on bail.”

“You know,” Macy interrupted, “I could probably tell you where he went in my van if you got me my phone.”

“Be quiet for a minute, Macy,” Wolfard said, looking at the microphone and scratching down notes as Clawhauser spoke.

“Parents deceased,” Clawhauser continued. “No known siblings–”

“Wait, Clawhauser shut up.” Wolfard looked up at the hyena, confused. “What did you say, Macy?”

“I said I could figure out where Trevor went in my van if you fetch my phone out of my pocket. I’d do it myself, but . . .” 

She held up her cuffed paws to demonstrate her point.

“How would you go about doing that?” Wolfard asked.

“I put a tracker in my van. He’s a sketchy lookin’ goat so I took some precautions in case he pulled some shit, and apparently he did.”

“And you have an app on your phone that shows you where he went?”

“Yuh huh.”

“Which pocket is your phone in?”

Macy motioned to her left leg and rested her chin on her paw. She smirked as Wolfard walked around the table and dug around her pocket. He sighed when he found that it was empty.

“You’re  _ very  _ funny,” he said, unamused.

“I had an itch I couldn’t reach, dude. Lighten up; you’re just helping a girl out.” She started chuckling.

Wolfard suddenly slammed a fist down on the table, the crash of steel ringing throughout the small room.

“You better cut the shit right now, Hyenman,” he said angrily. “We got two very good mammals with their lives on the line, and God forbid that line gets crossed. Are you gonna cooperate with me or can I stop wasting my god damn time and schedule your court date?”

The hyena slowly set down the Teddy Grahams. There were still a few left rustling in the bag.

“My phone’s in my right pocket,” she said quietly. “No jokes this time. The code is 8623.”

Wolfard took a deep breath and straightened his posture, slightly relaxing when he felt the phone in the girl’s pocket. He punched in the password and started scrolling through the apps.

“It’s called ‘Track 360’,” Macy clarified before he could ask. “Should be in a little folder marked ‘Spy Shit’.”

Wolfard rolled his eyes at the folder title and followed her instructions, opening the app. A blue and green loading screen took him to a timeline for the tracker. He looked over the past few days.

The app showed a map of Zootopia, a squiggly, red line marking wherever the van had been. Besides the trip to the mechanic, the van remained static in Macy’s garage. However, as Wolfard went back even further, there was much more movement, nearly all of it following erratic patterns in the Sahara desert. The timberwolf made his way back to the day Nick and Judy went missing.

At the beginning of the day, the van sat on the side of the street for a while, just as the reports suggested. When he tried to see where the van went next, Wolfard raised an eyebrow when he noticed that next hour had no markings on the map. It was as if the van disappeared completely.

“Macy, how reliable is this app?” he asked. “There’s about an hour of tracking missing.”

Macy shrugged. “It’s never just randomly stopped tracking movement while I’ve used it,” she said. “I don’t think Trevor randomly stumbled upon the device and switched it off only for an hour. There might’ve been some interference or something.”

“Right . . . where did you meet Trevor to get your van back?”

“Zootopia U, in the main entrance lot.”

“And you originally gave him the van in the same place?”

“Yep.”

“So I can assume that all movement in the van between those two time periods are his, and not yours?”

“Mhmm.”

“Alright.” Wolfard slid the hyena’s phone into his pocket. “I’ll be taking this so I can study what happened. Another officer will be here shortly to take you to your cell. There will be a bed.”

“Wait,” Macy said. Wolfard put a paw on his hip, raising his ears. Macy cleared her throat and said: “You’re not allowed to look at anything else on my phone without permission, right? Cuz of, like, laws and shit . . . right?”

“I won’t look at anything else, Macy,” Wolfard confirmed.

“Not that I have anything to hide, it’s just that–”

“Macy, you have my word.”

She scratched the back of her neck. “Pinky promise?” she asked, extending her finger to him.

The wolf sighed. “Pinky promise.” He curled his pinky around the hyena’s, smiling slightly.

He turned to leave the room but Macy called him back again.

“Hey! Uh, do you wanna get coffee sometime later?” she asked.

Wolfard looked back over his shoulder, slightly taken aback.

“How about you ask me again after we find these officers, alright?”

He left the room before she could reply.

* * *

 

Nick flipped the bone shank around in his paw. He had botched a total of three while sharpening them, earning him a cut on the inside of his cheek to complement the one he had already gifted his tongue. After hours of hard work, he managed to make two solid shanks out of what was supposed to be his meal. It was hard to tell the amount of time that had passed since they woke up, but the light in their cell hadn’t turned off yet, so the fox assumed it was at least some time before seven at night. 

He looked up at Judy, who had had her ear pressed up against the door for some time now. Her eyes closed in concentration, she appeared to be completely still. He hated to interrupt her, but he figured it would be better to slightly annoy her now than to risk either of them getting hurt once they executed their plan.

“Carrots,” he said, “can we run through the plan again?”

She looked at him, a bit confused, as though she were suddenly snapping back into reality. “Huh?” she asked.

“Well, we really don’t  _ have  _ much of a plan, so I was just wondering if there’s a certain route we’re gonna take? Or are we just winging it and hoping we don’t have to use our shanks?” Nick held up his chicken bone and thrusted it outward a few times, smirking slightly.

“I’m trying to find a good window for us to make a break for it.”

“I thought you said you were just waiting until they don’t sound nearby. Have they been close to the door this entire time?”

“No, they sound pretty far away, but I think if I wait a little longer I can better our chances of getting out of here. That one mammal likes to yell at Trevor sometimes. Well, by ‘yell’, I mean talk very sternly and scare the living daylights out of him. Anyway, I thought that if we wait a little bit they’ll be too preoccupied to notice if we make much noise.”

“And we just sneak around until we find an exit?”

“Can you handle that?”

“Hmph.” Nick stood up tall and puffed out his chest. “Stereotypes or no, Fluff, this fox you’re looking at was  _ born  _ sneaking.”

Judy crossed her arms. “And yet you still manage to wake me up every time you pour yourself some cereal in the middle of the night?”

“Ever consider that maybe I  _ want  _ to wake you up?”

“You’re evil.”

“I will not refute this.”

Judy turned back to the door. “Now if you’ll excuse me,” she said, “I’ll get back to listening for when our kidnapper throws a tantrum.”

Nick sat on the bed, playing with his shank again.

The both of them were in pretty bad shape, and were by no means able to put up a solid fight. Nick ran through some of the outcomes if they got caught. Would they be brought back to their cell? Would they be separated? Would they be killed? Nick was very hesitant to risk it, but what other choice did he have? Staying put would just make a tragic fate even more likely.

Judy snapped her fingers and motioned Nick over to her. The door opened without noise, to their luck.

Their cell was at the end of a hallway, no other doors to complement the large steel one. The walls were concrete just like the room they were just in, only they appeared to be slightly cleaner. The hallway led out into a large, open area. A storage garage. There were giant pillars supporting the ceiling, with foggy windows near the tops of the walls. The sky was just beginning to darken. 

Right as there was an opening between their cell and the rest of the building, Nick could make out the voice of one of their captors.

“–and there should be no reason for me to do so. Do you understand what I am saying?”

The monotone yet stern voice was instantly recognizable to Judy as the mammal she met once they arrived here, but this was Nick’s first time being introduced to him. The voice was so controlling and powerful, but it was somehow . . . sterile, as though it was devoid of any emotion.  Nick felt a shiver run the length of his spine. 

The two hesitantly creeped forward while the mammal spoke, both scanning the room for any threats as quickly as possible. Judy leaned on Nick for support, her leg still unable to carry her full weight. Their eyes grazed past the fold-up tables and chairs, past the discarded trash and cigarettes on the ground, past the several fans, buzzing and whirring to keep the building somewhat cooler. Their attention landed straight on the two moving objects in the room. A goat was sprawled on the floor in a submissive position, holding a hoof against one of his eyes, a bit of blood seeping through his fingers. An enormous zebra lumbered over him, the mammal’s back turned to Nick and Judy.

Trevor replied to the mammal, sounding scared out of his mind: “I’m s–sorry, sir, I just thought maybe I should get an advance so I know this gig’s legit. I trust you, b–but I’m running low on cash, and I already spent a shit ton for the van, so–”

“Trevor, this is something that one would say if they do  _ not  _ trust me.” 

Nick nudged Judy and motioned his head to the right side of the room. There was a door with one of those bright emergency EXIT signs. All that was between them and their escape was a ‘push to open’ bar. They started making their way over to the door.

“I will try to be as clear as possible,” the mammal continued, “because throughout the course of this job I have learned that you are startlingly deficient in terms of mental awareness. You can certainly expect financial gain once our work is complete, however, if you do not abide to my orders and concerns, I have the authority to dispose of you at any time. Finishing this job would be more difficult on my own, but I doubt it is anything I cannot handle. Now, can you give verbal confirmation that you clearly understand the terms of your employment?”

“ . . . Yes, sir.”

“How wonderful. Now please clean yourself up. I would be very displeased if I were to step in your inbred blood.”

Standing next to the door, the partners noticed that it was not exactly meant for mammals of their sizes. It stood at about double Nick’s height, so he would have to reach his paws up to head-level if he wanted to open it. Judy looked up at the handle and nearly gasped. There was a thick chain locked with a padlock that connected the handle of  the exit to the doorframe.

She looked at Nick, who was giving her a bunch of hand gestures, silently mouthing something while he did so. To an average mammal, this would look like some silly gibberish, but ever since she met Nick, Judy had become fluent in his version of sign language. In their line of work, being able to communicate without making noise was quite useful. As Nick pointed to their captors, to the door, and wiggled his fingers back forth, Judy was able to decipher:  _ You keep an eye on those two while I pick the lock. If they notice us, make a break for it. Only try and fight if they get close. _

The rabbit turned her attention back to Trevor and the zebra, her grip on the shank tightening. They had traded positions, the zebra sitting cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed, and Trevor walking over to a rusty sink in the corner. Luckily, both of them were in such a position that Nick and Judy still weren’t in view. 

The zebra still managed to exude a strong sense of power over everyone else in the room. He was big, much larger than any zebra Judy had ever seen before. There weren’t too many in Zootopia as far as Judy knew, but the ones she met didn’t compare to his size. 

He was wearing a button-down shirt and slacks. His mane was styled competently and he wore his glasses as if he was making a fashion statement. He looked as though he couldn’t be anything more than twenty-five.

As Trevor washed the blood from his eye, as Nick shoved a chicken bone inside the lock he was picking, as the zebra meditated in the middle of the abandoned warehouse, the world seemed to melt away in front of Judy’s eyes. The color dripped away like melting wax and suddenly

It was just her and the zebra.

_ What is he? _

He sat there and sat there.

_ He can’t even be a real mammal. _

And it was mesmerizing.

_ Please let me out of here. _

His eyes shot open.

There was a click when Nick unlocked the door. The zebra had heard it. He was on his feet.

“Open it.  _ Now! _ ” Judy yelled.

“I’m  _ trying _ ,” Nick grunted. He let go of his shank as he strained to open the door. It barely lifted away from the doorframe. It was too heavy, and Nick’s physical state was still far below his norm.

The zebra was sprinting at them. He was twenty feet away from them. Ten.

Nick grabbed Judy by the paw, making a dash for the other side of the room. There was a door over there, and Nick hoped they could close it behind them before the zebra caught up.

They had no such luck. Judy cried out and stumbled, accidentally putting too much weight on her bad leg. Nick caught her from falling, but the two had slowed down too much. The zebra tackled the fox to the ground, removing Judy from his grasp. She landed to the side of them, the wind getting knocked out of her.

The zebra hoisted Nick up to his feet as Trevor ran up to Judy, sounding short of breath. The zebra locked his arm around Nick’s neck and pulled a gun from his waistband, Nick’s eyes widening as he saw this. 

“Whoa, whoa, listen, buddy,” Nick started pleading with the zebra. He laughed nervously, his feet squirming as the zebra’s grip tightened. “It doesn’t have to be like this. Please, just . . . let’s just talk this through, alright?”

“Trevor,” the zebra said, in the same tone of voice as any other situation, “I would like you to restrain Ms. Hopps for me.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the goat reached down to grab the bunny. Judy quickly scanned the goat and noticed that he also had a gun concealed in his waistband. She kicked one of the goat’s hooves away and forcefully brought down her shank on his left calf. He screamed in pain, knees buckling down. Judy took the chance and snatched his weapon out from his belt. She scooted back and picked a target, settling on pointing her newly acquired firearm at the zebra.

“Boss . . .” Trevor said between pained gasps. “Boss, she  _ stabbed  _ m–”

A gunshot ripped through the warehouse, the sound repeatedly entering and reentering Judy’s eardrums as the echoes rebounded violently. The bunny quickly looked down to see if it was her who had been hit. Everything looked fine.

“Shit,” Trevor said quietly, now gripping a wound on his other leg. “You shot me, boss.”

“I am unable to stress how many times I have intimated my desire that you should not refer to me in such a way, Trevor,” the zebra said, smoke floating out of the barrel of his gun. “It was quite a simple correction you needed to make, yet you were ultimately unable to do it. I have reached my final straw with you.”

“I don’t even feel it too much,” Trevor muttered, trying to get to his feet. “It don’t hurt too bad.”

“You mammals are batshit insane,” Nick said, trying to avoid looking at the goat’s mangled legs.

“Ah, yes,” the zebra said. “I nearly forgot about my two mammals of interest.” He pressed his gun against Nick’s temple, the barrel still hot from the recently fired bullet. The fox’s eyes clenched shut in fear and pain. “Comfortable, Mr. Wilde?”

“Yeah, I feel like I’m at a luxury spa right now. I actually gotta get going though, so can you please let go of me?”

“This is by no means following the plan I had originally set, but a few minor drawbacks are hardly going to affect the final product. I am very excited to show you two what I have in store.” The zebra flashed a demented smile.

“Why are you doing this to us?” Judy asked. The gun was shaking in her paw. She’d never held one of these before. 

“Many are led to believe that in this world there are the strong and the weak. They are taught this from birth, and they are pushed and pushed to be the strong. Being the weak means they have lost. Being the weak means they are of no value. It is alpha and beta. First and second.”

Trevor was crawling to the exit; he was about halfway to the door.

“Hey, zebra guy,” Nick said, pointing to Trevor, “your partner is leaving! What if he rats you out?”

“I, for one, believe that this rule of life is pure nonsense,” the zebra continued. He pressed the barrel of his gun further into Nick’s skull. 

“Agh! Carrots . . .” he yelled.

“Let him go or I’ll shoot,” Judy said, shakily getting to her feet. The zebra squatted down, making sure that there was an equal chance of hitting Nick if Judy were to take a shot.

“Ah, I must say, I do enjoy a good standoff. Both parties have something to lose. Conscious mammals are at stake on either side of the gun.” He smiled at Nick. “It is very romantic how she would threaten the life of another so you yourself may live, would not you agree, Mr Wilde?”

“We don’t want anybody to get hurt,” Judy said. “Just tell us what–”

“Do not interrupt me, Ms. Hopps, or your friend will lose an essential part of his brain. Now, as I was saying–”

Nick, running out of viable options, unclenched his jaw and sank his teeth into the zebra’s arm. The zebra didn’t even flinch as the taste of iron filled Nick’s muzzle.

“–the world is full of in-betweens. A bodybuilder can gloat about their physical capabilities as much as they desire, but they may on the contrary have trouble passing a third-grade spelling test. A chipmunk who can hardly handle one flight of stairs without suffering a heart attack may be able to construct an atom bomb in his garage.”

“Carrots, I don’t want to die.” Nick was beginning to hyperventilate. 

“Hold on, Nick—that’s the panic talking. Remember your training, deep breaths.  I’m thinking, alright? We’re going to get out of this.”

Trevor reached the emergency exit, and after a few disoriented attempts to grab onto the handle, he managed to open it. As the door opened, the sound of police sirens were audible. Despite this, Trevor still crawled outside. 

Judy checked the windows for red and blue lights, but they were too high up for her to catch a glimpse. If the police were here, she had no surefire way to tell.

“Now that leaves the question: what makes a mammal purely weak, and what makes a mammal purely strong? It is not simply a mammal with both physical and mental prowess; it is much more than that. A weak mammal brings no use to anyone or anything. They provide no joy to friends or family. They serve no purpose to the environment. Overall, they are a burden to the planet. A strong mammal is the pure opposite.” 

His voice was raising. 

“A strong mammal is the definition of purpose.”

Louder.

“A strong mammal rivals God.”

_ Louder. _

“A strong mammal would feel no guilt if he were to put a bullet in a fellow mammal, so long as the ends justify the means!”

He leaned in to Nick’s ear and whispered: “Mr. Wilde,  _ I  _ am a strong mammal.” He let out a dry snort, something akin to a laugh and looked back at Judy. “How about we perform a little experiment, hm? I will assume the role of the scientist. Ms. Hopps, I would appreciate if you were the subject. Mr. Wilde, you shall be the observer tonight, unless of course you would prefer the term ‘guinea pig’.”

Nick stayed silent, attempting to take deep breaths.

“Well, proper title or not, there is not much you will be doing in our experiment, Mr. Wilde. The spotlight is entirely on your partner, so cross your fingers she does not choke.”

Judy swallowed down her fear. “What do you want me to do?” she asked.

The zebra breathed in and held the oxygen in his mouth for what felt like a minute. He finally let the air gush out of his nostrils with an air of satisfaction, as if he’d just smoked an entire cigar in one puff.

“Beg,” he said.

“. . . wha–”

“I said I want you to  _ beg,  _ Ms. Hopps. I want you at your most defenseless, your most submissive, your most hopeless, your most heart-wrenchingly emotional, all in front of me.”

“I don’t understand what you want–”

“Oh, you know  _ exactly  _ what I want you to do. In the next few moments, either you will be groveling before me, or I will be picking up shards of this fox’s skull off the concrete. The pieces should make a fine necklace. I can imagine it now.”

The demented smile showed itself again.

Judy looked into Nick’s eyes.

He blinked.

She blinked.

His eyes told him to play along.

“Please don’t hurt him, sir,” she said.

The zebra nodded, motioning at her for more.

“I don’t want him to die. Please . . . he’s everything to me.” Judy’s voice was starting to quiver.

“ _ More _ .”

“He’s not ready to die.  _ I’m  _ not ready for him to die. Don’t take him away from me . . . I don’t know how I’d go on.” Tears splashed down Judy’s cheeks, tracing shaky lines in her dirt-smeared fur. She couldn’t tell if she needed to act or if it needed to be real. Either way, she couldn’t tell which one she was committing to. All she knew was that she needed to save Nick.

“I want to  _ feel _ it. Let me  _ feel  _ it.  _ Beg _ !”

“I love him! I need him! You can’t do this to me! I’ll do anything you want, just please, don’t hurt him!”

The zebra closed his eyes and inhaled his imaginary high once again. Upon the exhale, he euphorically muttered: “Scene.”

Judy fired twice just as the zebra’s gun went off. The huge mammal toppled over like a sandbag, his body hitting the ground with a thud.

Nick fell on all fours and scurried to Judy, pulling her into his embrace. They clenched the clothes on each other’s backs, breathing deeply, identifying each other’s scents and determining whether they were still in the real world. 

The adrenaline wore down, and the ringing in their ears began to cease.

“I felt his bullet shoot right past my face,” Nick finally said. “He was about to kill me. You saved me, Judy.”

Judy stayed silent, still clinging to the fox.

“Is he dead?” Nick asked.

Judy glanced at the still figure. His chest wasn’t rising. The first bullet had missed, but the second struck directly in the middle of the zebra’s forehead.

“Yeah,” Judy replied. “ _ It’s _ dead.”

Nick sighed in relief. “Good.”

Judy pulled back and looked into the fox’s eyes. “Are you alright, Nick?”

“Uh, probably not . . . but for now I think  I’m just shaken. I have a bit of a headache from–”

“Sweet cheese and crackers, Nick, I hit your ear!”

“Huh?”

Nick reached up and felt his right ear, bringing his paw back to find it covered in blood.

“Whoa . . . does it look cool?”

“What?”

“I mean is it a nice, clean hole, or does it look gross and torn up? I want my ear piercing to match the one I got on my tongue earlier.” He smirked.

“You’re such a dumb fox. You know that?”

“Sometimes I forget, so I need you to remind me.”

Nick hugged her again as the ZPD rushed into the building.

* * *

 

Nick sat on the edge of an ambulance, one paw gripping the blanket closer to his body, the other holding a bottle of water. He was still dehydrated from his time in the desert.

Paramedics were inspecting Judy’s leg in another ambulance. An officer had already come by to ask some investigative questions, but he decided to give Nick a rest after getting only a little basic information. Nick assumed he would be answering a lot more questions the following day, but for now he was all by his lonesome.

Trevor practically walked into the ZPD’s arms. He was immediately sent to a hospital so his legs could be cared for, and would be sent to jail right after. As the paramedics loaded him onto a stretcher and into the back of an ambulance,  he kept muttering: “I knew I shouldn’t have taken that job.”

The sky was dark and the street lights were on. The warehouse ended up being an abandoned one in Tundratown. Nick watched in interest as snowflakes flew by, fluttering as if  to wave hello before gravity tugged them to the ground. He caught a few on the back of his paw and smirked as they melted into this fur.

“Ayyyy, Wilde! You’re alive!”

Wolfard approached the back of the ambulance, grinning ear to ear. He grabbed Nick by the shoulder and gave him a noogie.

“Ow!” Nick said. “Ya know, if it meant never seeing you again, I definitely would’ve taken death by dehydration in the middle of the desert.”

“Geez, it’s been  _ so _ boring at the office without you around, dude. These guys did not make you easy to find.” He started counting out things on his fingers. “They had a scrambler in the van you chased them in, they hid you in the least active area of the least active district in the city, and to top it all off, they tried to pin the whole thing on some random college student.”

“Yeah, well, these guys definitely took a liking to us.”

“I’ll say. The hell happened to your ear?”

“Just a minor friendly fire incident.”

“Judy got tired of your bad jokes? 

“Something like that.”

“Hey . . . you feeling alright?”

Nick scratched the back of his neck, looking away from Wolfard. “I . . . haven’t entirely processed what happened yet, if that makes any sense.”

Wolfard nodded and slung an arm around Nick’s shoulders. “You’re gonna be okay, bud. It’s all over now.”

“Thanks, Eugene.”

“If you ever need something, don’t be afraid to gimme a call. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

“Well, I  _ was _ making somewhat of a recovery before you came here and gave me a noogie.”

“Shit, sorry. Gonna be awhile before I can beat you up again, huh?”

“Tragically, yes.”

“See, I know you’re a masochist deep down, so this whole ordeal was probably a piece of cake for you. But we all have to draw the line somewhere, right?”

“I’m lucky you guys found me. I think I might’ve been enjoying myself too much.”

“‘You guys’? This was all Wolfard, baby.”

“You found us by yourself?”

“For the most part. Bogo had a stick up his ass for the first couple days you were gone, so I had to break out the magnifying glass and do some Grade A detective shit.”

“What tipped you off that we were here?”

“That college student these guys tried to frame actually had a tracker on their van. I reviewed all the places I went and this place seemed to appear a lot in the pattern. Bogo finally did something useful and rounded up all the cops he could. And now we’re here.”

“Oh, so you’re saying that the medals should go to Bogo, every cop here but you, and a college kid? Got it.”

“Shut it, Wilde. I don’t care how beat up you already are. I will demolish you.”

“Okay. Wait, why did a college student have a  _ tracker  _ on these guys’ van?”

“Long story. I’ll tell you later. She’s quite the interesting character.”

“‘She’? Oh boy, Eugene’s into the college girls.”

“Heh, all jokes aside, she did ask me out to coffee.”

“Seriously?”

“Yup.”

“Go for it! You’re easily the loneliest son of a bitch I’ve ever met.”

“You know what? If we can one-hundred percent confirm that she wasn’t involved in your kidnapping, I’ll give it a shot.”

“Attaboy! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a bunny I’d like to talk to.” 

Nick hopped onto his feet. “I’ll make sure to let Carrots know that you found us. She’ll probably give you a smooch on the cheek or something.”

“Fuck the smooch on the cheek! I need a beer. And you owe me  _ at least  _ ten after what I did for you.”

“We’ll talk about it. Have fun on your coffee date, Wolfard.”

“Catch you later, dude.”

Nick approached the other ambulance. The paramedics quickly gave him the clear after seeing who he was, and Nick climbed inside next to Judy. She was lying on her stomach so they could look at her leg, which had finally been properly cleaned and bandaged. She smiled when she saw Nick.

“Heeyyyyy Nicky. How are you?”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “Carrots, do they have you on painkillers?”

“Just a lil . . . they feel good. You should try some!”

“I’ll pass on that one. What’d they say about your leg?”

“It was a bad cut, but there problly won’t be any permament damage.”

“Good to hear, good to hear . . . Damn, I really wish I had my phone so I could record you right now. This is hilarious.” Nick chuckled.

“Is not! Don’t laugh at me.”

“I’ll do my best, but sometimes it’s too hard to hold in.”

“Yerr dumb.”

“Yes, I am very dumb. That is correct.”

“Wilde. Hopps,” a deep voice grunted.

The two turned to see Bogo standing at the back of the ambulance, arms crossed.

“Heya, Chief,” Nick said. “How’s the family?”

“I’m glad you two are alright,” Bogo said, ignoring Nick. “I’d like to apologize to the both of you. I wasn’t quick enough to declare a full investigation on your disappearance. I figured that you two are so good at handling yourselves that there wasn’t any real threat. It was irresponsible of me.”

Bogo motioned Nick closer.

“I’m granting the both of you three weeks off with pay,” he said so Judy couldn’t hear. “If Hopps needs any additional time in order to recover, we can work that out.”

“What’re you guyz talking abooooooout,” Judy groaned.

“We’re getting a vacation, Fluff Butt,” Nick called over his shoulder.

“What?” Judy asked, ears raised. “Vacation? Boooooo I wanna work!”

“I’m also assigning you both some mandatory sessions with a psychologist,” Bogo continued. “It’s standard procedure for any officers involved in a shooting death.”

“Understood, Chief.” 

“We’ll probably have an officer stop by your place tomorrow to ask some more questions. Enjoy your time off.”

“I appreciate it, Chief.”

“Wilde?”

“Hm?”

Bogo rested a hoof on the fox’s shoulder.

“I really am glad the two of you made it out in one piece. You’re among the best officers this city’s ever had, and losing you would be a big blow.”

Nick smiled and nodded.

“Gee, and here I thought you actually cared about  _ us _ . . .”

The buffalo snorted before turning to leave the two of them alone again, and Nick went back to the bunny’s side.

“I don’t want time off,” she said stubbornly.

“Don’t be so bummed out, Carrots,” Nick said. “We’ll have a blast! I know you don’t know what a ‘vacation’ is, but I promise they’re plenty of fun.”

Judy sighed. “Can we play Star Fox?”

Nick smiled and patted the bunny’s head. “I couldn’t think of any better way to spend my time.”

* * *

 

Nothing much happened for the next two weeks.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took a while, but nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I think this one was pretty good. Lemme know what you think. Next chapter will be the last. It’s been fun.


	8. The Milkshake

“Judy, I think you’re being very . . .  _ introspective  _ about all of this.”

“Thank you,” Judy replied.

“A bit  _ too  _ introspective.”

Judy crossed one leg over the other, then switched, ultimately settling for both feet flat on the floor. The couch of the department therapist, Dr. Leopold, was clearly more for show than comfort.

“Is that a bad thing?” Judy asked.

“Well, it depends. Everybody’s different. Everybody thinks in a different way, so something that works for another mammal may not work for you.”

“So we need to find out what  _ does  _ work best for me?” Judy asked.

“Yes.”

“And you’re not sure if all the self-reflection is right for me?” Judy asked.

“Are  _ you  _ sure? This is something we should get to the bottom of. I think that for someone like you, introspection can quickly turn to brooding, and existentialism doesn’t seem to fit you so well . . . but I could be wrong. In any case, let’s take your latest insight for example: you think that this zebra may have been some sort of cosmic punishment, sent to you for the sole purpose of making your life inherently worse. Am I understanding this correctly?”

“Yes,” Judy confirmed.

“And this leads you to think that maybe this is because your life up to this point has been  _ too  _ good, and you needed to be shown some suffering just so you can appreciate that not everything will always work out in your favor. That the overabundance of happiness in your life somehow had to be balanced by an equal measure of bad . . . is that right?”

“Yes,” Judy confirmed again.

“And thinking this makes you feel . . . ?”

“Sad,” Judy finished.

“I see.”

“But am I just  _ not  _ supposed to think about it? What else am I supposed to do? I can’t just selectively remove it from my brain; that’s impossible.”

“Judy, the point here isn’t that you need to  _ stop  _ thinking about what happened. It’s that you need to  _ change  _ how you think about it. A lot of one’s happiness simply comes from how you think about the hand life deals you.”

“Well, life doesn’t usually have you shoot another mammal in the head, does it?”

“No, Judy it doesn’t. I know it must be very hard for you.”

“Yeah, no kidding.”

Judy and the therapist sat in silence for a short moment before the doctor said, “Well . . . I’m afraid that’s all the time we have for today, but I’ll see you next week, alright?”

“Yep.”

They both got up, the leopard holding the door open for the bunny.

“How’s your leg by the way?”

“Better. I’ll see you next week. Thanks.”

“Have a good night, Judy.”

* * *

 

Judy’s leg wasn’t feeling good, so she Z ubered back to her apartment instead of taking the short walk.

“How was your appointment?” Nick asked from the couch as Judy trudged through the door.

“Good,” Judy mumbled, slumping into an overstuffed chair.

“You sure? You look kinda bunny-bummed, Carrots.”

“I’m fine,” Judy said.

“Ya know, my mother always used to tell me that ‘fine’ stands for ‘Feelings I’m Not Expressing’.”

“I’m fine, ok?” Judy said again, a bit more forcefully than she intended.

The fox raised an eyebrow.

“Okay . . . well what were you thinking for dinner? This new Southern place opened up a few blocks away and I heard that –”

“I’m not hungry,” the rabbit interjected. 

“C’mon, Carrots, it’ll be fun! They’re supposed to have some great carrot cake, too. I thought we could get some and pig out a little, watch a movie.”

“I’m not hungry,” Judy said again.

“Maybe just the movie, then?”

“I’m tired,” Judy said, slipping off the chair onto her feet and beginning to walk to her room.

“Carrots, you really shouldn’t go to bed on an empty stomach.”

She kept walking.

Nick grabbed her arm.

“Carrots . . . just talk with me for a little. Please?”

She stared at him wearily. After a moment the fox let go of her arm.

“I’m tired,” Judy said again and walked into her room.

She shut the door and collapsed onto her bed.

Judy fell asleep with her pillow wet.

* * *

 

Judy woke up and walked out of her room, still in the same clothes she’d worn at the therapist’s office. As she emerged, she heard Nick’s voice in the living room.

“I was thinking maybe you guys could come out for a week or so.”

He was talking on the phone.

“Yeah, I think it could help out a lot,” the fox said. “She needs some familiar faces right now.”

His back was turned to Judy. She stood there, waiting for him to finish.

“Oh no, I’m alright. It’s been tough, but I’ll deal. I’m getting kind of worried about her though, so– . . . yes. Okay. I’ll see you then. Say hi to Bonnie for me, alright? Thanks. Take care, Stu.”

He put his phone in his pocket and sighed, then turned around.

“Oh! . . . uh, hey, Carrots.”

“Hi,” Judy said.

“That was supposed to be a surprise.”

“I figured.”

He sighed again.

“Can I get you some breakfast?”

“I want a milkshake.”

He laughed. “What?”

“From Bug-A-Burger. They have the best ones.”

“It’s 8 in the morning.”

“You said you’re friends with the manager of the one nearby so you can get lunch items during breakfast hours.”

“You’re right, I did say that, but I was  _ trying  _ to imply that you shouldn’t be having milkshakes at 8 in the morning, not that they’re impossible to find.”

“Please?”

“. . . If you change your clothes and take a shower, then yes.”

“Okay.”

* * *

 

It took a little over an hour for those things to happen. They both went to Bug-A-Burger. Judy had them take a Zuber.

* * *

 

“What flavor do you want?” Nick asked as they walked inside.

“Just vanilla, Judy said. 

“On it.”

As he went to the counter Judy sat in a booth. After a few minutes, Nick came back with two milkshakes.

“Thanks,” Judy said and took a sip from the shake.

“What’s going on, Carrots?” Nick asked after a few minutes of silence. He hadn’t touched his shake.

“This milkshake tastes really good.”

It  _ was  _ really good.

“I meant with  _ you _ . What’s going on with  _ you _ ?”

“I told you Nick, I’m just tired.”

“Nope. Not buying it. There’s clearly something we need to talk about.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Judy said.

“I know. I sure as heck don’t either . . . but that’s why it’s important that we  _ do  _ talk about it.”

Judy sipped her milkshake and broke eye contact.

“I still think about it, Carrots. All the time,” Nick said softly.

_ I should have ordered without whipped cream. _

“And I know it hasn’t left your mind, either.”

“So?” Judy snapped,  “So what? I’m going to therapy. I’m working on it, ok? Things will be back to normal in a couple of weeks.”

“Do you really believe that? If you can’t be honest with me, do you really think you can be honest with a therapist?”

“. . . No.”

Nick put a paw on hers. “If I could turn back time, I would . . . but I can’t, so you have to let me help you. You’re in a bad spot right now.”

Judy sipped, trying to look anywhere but at Nick. 

“And honestly? I could really use your help, too, Judy.”

This drew the rabbit’s gaze back to Nick. 

“Can we go somewhere private?” Judy asked. “Somewhere without so many mammals?”

“Like where?”

“I’m sure you can think of more than a few places in the city where we can be alone.”

Nick nodded and stood up. His milkshake was still on the table, untouched.

“Yeah, I guess I’ve got a place in mind.”

* * *

 

They Zubered again.

* * *

 

Shortly, they were at the cobblestone bridge.

“I had a feeling you’d take me here,” Judy said.

“Do you want to go somewhere else?”

“No, this is good.”

Nick held Judy’s paw as they made their way down a small hill to get to the underside of the bridge. Walking down the hill hurt her leg, but she grit her teeth. She sat down once in the shade, and after a moment, she lay down, completely stretching her limbs.

“I like it here,” Judy said.

“Me too.”

The wind was louder down there. It was comforting, drowning out the noise of the city.

“Lie down next to me,” Judy said.

He did.

“What’s on your mind, Carrots?”

Judy put her paws on her chest.

“I was thinking about how there are sixty seconds in a minute,” Judy said. “And sixty minutes in an hour. That’s so stupid.”

“Why?”

“Whoever thought of the concept of counting time should’ve made them prettier numbers. Like a hundred seconds in a minute. Something like that.”

“But then it would add up to more time than a full day.”

“Well obviously a single second would have to be shorter if it was like that. Duh.”

“What if some mammals can’t count that fast?”

“That’s their problem.”

“I’m just saying that instead of going one . . . two . . . three . . . it would be like  _ onetwothree _ , ya know?”

“It’d root out the articulate speakers from the weak of tongue.”

“‘Weak of tongue.’ I like that.”

“I just came up with it.”

“You got a good head on your shoulders, Hopps.”

“Thanks.”

“You know that’s not what I meant when I asked what’s on your mind, though.”

“Yeah.”

“So what’s on your mind?”

She stayed silent.

“Carrots . . .”

“I came to Zootopia to make the world a better place . . . not to kill mammals.”

“I know. Nobody thinks you’re a killer.”

“But Nick . . . I am! I willingly ended someone’s life.”

“Out of self-defense.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does. If you hadn’t done anything I’d be dead.”

“I . . .”

“I know it’s a moral dilemma and all that, but I promise that any rational mammal would agree you did the right thing back there, Carrots. I can only hope that if I’d been in your place I would have been strong enough to do the same thing . . .”

Judy felt Nick take her paw and give it a gentle squeeze. They sat in silence for a long time.

“I wanna know why he did it.”

“You what?”

“He had to have had some sort of motive.”

“Yeah, his motive was being a fucking psychopath.”

“I think he was a megalomaniac, actually. He liked seeing people admit that they’re weaker than him.”

“So why’d he go after us?”

“We’ve been two of the most respected mammals in the city since the Nighthowler case. That plus being cops must’ve shown him that we’re a fairly even match for him in terms of strength, so he picked us out to be part of his power project.”

“Well–”

“And he succeeded. He won.”  
“How?”

“He forced me to submit to him and proved he was stronger.”

“Then how come he’s dead and we’re still alive?”  
“Because he was done. He did what he wanted to do and didn’t care what else happened.”

“I don’t think that’s right.”

“What do you think, then?”

“If he really had a power fantasy, he wouldn’t be done after besting two police officers. He’d have bigger fish to fry. He would’ve moved on to the mayor, then the governor, then the president. It wouldn’t make sense to stop with us. We survived because we were stronger than him, Fluff.”

“Oh . . .”

“You don’t agree, huh?”

“I’m not entirely sure. I have so many theories at this point it’s hard to keep track of them.”

“You’re thinking about it too much.”

“I don’t know what else  _ to  _ think about.”

Nick’s lips were on hers, and Judy stopped mid-breath to cling onto the back of his neck. Just as quickly as it happened, he pulled away and they both opened their eyes.

“Sorry,” Nick said. “That was bad timing.”

Judy smirked. “What’s your idea of  _ good  _ timing?”

He shrugged. “Sunset. Birds chirping. Maybe on the gondolas in the Rainforest District. You’re wearing a beautiful dress, and we’ve just finished a meal at Le Bernaardvaark ...”

“I was expecting a stupid answer but that was actually really nice.”

“What can I say? I’ve been planning that out in my head for months and . . . oh God I’m saying this outloud aren’t I?”

“Yep.”

He dragged a paw across his face.

“Took you long enough,” Judy said.

“Huh?”

“Well I expected a sly, quick-mouthed fox like you to make a move a little sooner.”

Nick scratched the back of his neck. “Are you not weirded out?”

The rabbit rolled her eyes and brushed her ears down to the back of her head, grabbing Nick’s tie and pulling him in. Their lips met with Nick’s eyes still wide with surprise.

“I’m flattered if anything,” she answered into his mouth.

She leaned back a bit. “But I don’t think now is the best time to jump into a relationship, Slick.”

Nick shook his head, dumbstruck, and said, “O–oh, yeah. No, that’s understandable. Take as much time as you need.”

Judy sighed. “I’ve been feeling the same way for a long time, too.”

The fox’s ears perked. “Really?”

“It only registered just recently, but yeah.”

“What made things click?”

“When you said you were in love with me. Back in the cell.”

“Oh yeah,” Nick laughed. “Honestly I thought you didn’t hear me say that. There wasn’t much of a reaction.”

“I had my mind on other things at the time.”

“Naturally.”

“But I’m glad things are finally . . . ya know . . .  _ out there _ .”

“It feels almost surreal. This whole thing. And not just because I fell in love with a bunny.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well . . .” Nick started playing with the dirt near where he was sitting, pinching the grains between his fingers and trickling them into a small pile. Judy could tell what was coming. Nick usually fidgeted when talking about something personal to him.

“I can’t shake the feeling that I’m dead. That I died back in the desert and nothing afterwards has been real. That my brain just made a little simulation during its last moments of activity so I wouldn’t have to cope with the fact that I was about to die.” He poked some holes in his dirt pile. “I’m worried that the simulation might suddenly end soon. I don’t want it to end.” He smiled and looked at Judy. “Now all I can think is, ‘Damn, simulation or not, I got to kiss Judy fucking Hopps. My brain did a hell of a job.’” He burst out laughing.

Tears dripped down Judy’s cheeks. She pulled him into a hug, laughing with him.

They stayed like that for a while.

“Shit,” Judy said.

“What?” Nick asked.

“I left my milkshake in the Zuber.”

Nick chuckled. “Carrots, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you curse before.”

“Did I do it right?”  
“Technically, yes, but it sounds incredibly cute when it’s coming from you.”

“You know how I feel about that word.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Can we go now?”

“Sure, Carrots.”

They got up, and Nick helped Judy up the hill.

“So just to be clear,” Nick said, “I don’t have to stay in a hotel again when your parents visit, right?”

“They’ll probably be so busy asking if I’m okay that they probably won’t even notice I’m living with a fox.”

Nick laughed. “But seriously, I can stay in my room, right?”

“Yes, Nick.”

* * *

 

They walked back to the apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading my story. I had a fun time writing it. I may write another one in the future. Special thanks to WhatABummer and DrummerMax64 for helping edit this. See ya.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, the Zootopian version of Frank Zappa is still alive in this universe, and yes, I changed the title ‘Muffin Man’ to ‘Muffin Mammal.’ Deal with it.  
> I’m not ditching Under an Iron Fist, because despite its lack of. . .you know. . .decent writing, I won’t feel complete until it’s complete. I’m going to set a deadline of December 28 for the next update of this story, because I feel like I’m more likely to update if I’ve got that hanging over my head.  
> As always, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my new shitstorm in the making.


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